When was this photograph taken?
QA cousin of my husband has come across this brooch. The story is that one of their great uncles made the brooch for his mother, supposedly during the First World War. If we can date the picture we may be able to work out who it is. The front of the brooch is fairly intricately carved ivory or bone. The back of the brooch is a picture of a gentleman on glass.
Wendy Ray
AThis is a piece of sentimental jewellery. Such items became popular and widespread during the Victorian era, and often contained a photograph or painting of a loved one. Most common were rings, lockets, pendants and brooches, the vogue continuing into the early 1900s.
Antique jewellery like this complex brooch, displaying a male portrait and intricate scene on opposite sides, should ideally be shown to a dedicated jewellery expert experienced in dating the style of such objects, identifying/ describing their materials and construction, and explaining any symbolism contained within their design.
I believe this to be broadly Victorian or early 20th century in date, the metal probably gold or brass. The picture is a professional studio photograph: retouched using coloured and gold paint, it could well be a glass ambrotype, carefully cut down to fit the oval brooch surround. The gentleman’s appearance dates to the 1860s/1870s and he must be aged around 40, so would have been born c1820– 1840. It would be helpful for you to establish if this mid-Victorian photograph matches the date of the brooch, or whether the brooch is earlier or later. At present I can see nothing positively linking this to the First World War. Jayne Shrimpton