Victorian Gothic Cross c.1850

Exceptional 18 carat gold, coloured enamel and natural pearl Victorian Gothic cross c.1850.

3 inches by 1.75 inches. 18.6 grams.

The distinctive ornamental motifs on the cross can be linked to the leading proponents of Romantic Historicism  such as AWN Pugin and  mid-century goldsmith Jean-Valentin Morel.The culmination of Morel's London career(1849-52) was his display at the Great Exhibition of 1851, at which he showed jewellery(along with silver and Neo-Renaissance cups).Such a finely crafted and exquisitely enamelled cross as this can be attributed if not to his workshop then to a jeweller of this time working under his influence.