Berlin

This exquisite necklace is the product of a Berlin casting mould (an alloy of iron and carbon). Jewellery such as this had become both a necessity and a fashion item: in fact to support the war effort against Napoleon in 1813, the Emperor of Germany asked families to hand over their gold jewellery, for which they received decorative objects cast in Berlin in exchange. Ultimately Napoleon would seize the moulds so that France could make similar ornaments... Here the lyre motif alternates with a pattern of palms topped with clover, while three pendants, each surmounted by a cross, hang from the rich central quatrefoil motif.