Lapis lazuli gentian

Gentian
Gentian Austrian brooch
Gentian brooch back
081

GENTIANA

Gentian

Brooch

Importmark for Austria-Hungary

Before 1922

Unknown hallmark, overstruck. O.Q?

Lapis lazuli, nephrite, brilliant cut diamond, single cut diamonds, 585/1000 whitegold 14 k, platinum topped

58,3 x 18,2 mm

9,65 grams

Good

Sold

 

 

An elegant brooch in the shape of a gentian, a flower normally to be found in alpine habitats in temperate regions. The genus name is a tribute to Gentius, an Illyrian king who may have been the discoverer of the tonic properties of gentians.

The large, trumpet-shaped flowers are most often of an intense blue. Lapis lazuli is the perfect material to depict that specific colour.
The opaque azure stone (‘lapis‘) is actually not one mineral but the name given to a stone consisting of several components. Roman author and naturalist Pliny the Elder described Lapis lazuli as ‘a fragment of the starry vault of heaven’.
Lapis lazuli has been loved since ancient times, as a gemstone and as a pigment called ‘genuine ultramarine’ for paint and fabric.

Link to an excellent article about Lapis Lazuli by David Margulies.

 

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