A cornelian cherry, made out of coral

rosehip

Cornelian cherry
050

Fruit of a CORNUS MAS

Cornelian cherry

Brooch

Vienna, Austria

1950’s – 60’s

Unknown

Coral, nephrite, 585/1000 gold 14 k

57 x 53 mm

19,9 grams

Good.

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.

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