Herbarium Nr
050
Scientific Name
Fruit of a CORNUS MAS
Common Name
Cornelian cherry
Type
Brooch
Place
Vienna, Austria
Date
1950’s – 60’s
Collected by
Unknown
Material
Coral, nephrite, 585/1000 gold 14 k
Size
57 x 53 mm
Total Weight
19,9 grams
Condition
Good.
Price
Sold
Cornus mas (Cornelian cherry, European cornel, Cornel cherry or Cornelian cherry dogwood) is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae.
That common name Cornelian cherry.. Hmmm, for a jeweller that sounds like a jewel already.
The fruit looks more like an olive then a cherry to me, but indeed this fruit has a color similar to cornelian. Cornelian or carnelian is an orange-red-brown mineral, a variety of Chalcedony. It’s often used for jewellery, like for instance in this cherry brooch.
The mineral received it’s name, according to Wikipedia’s etymology, from the Mediaeval Latin corneolus, derived from the Latin word cornum, the cornel cherry, whose translucent red fruits resemble the stone.. So first the tree got it’s name and later a mineral was named after it.
However, for this depiction of the branch with its typical fruit another material was used instead, namely coral.
A bit confusing isn’t it? To add some certainty to the jewel; the brooch has got a double pin.