Of the immense number of subjects represented on these jewels we have already spoken in the introduction to the jewellery of the period. For pendants formed of single figures executed in the round, the whole of ancient or mediæval imagery—with its figures of Pan or of wood-nymphs, centaurs, tritons, or mermen; nereids, mermaids or sirens; hippocamps, unicorns, dragons, and other creatures, real as well as fabulous, of the earth, air, or sea—was revived, or else transformed to suit the fancy of the Renaissance jeweller. The formation of many of these was frequently suggested by a monster pearl, unsuitable for ordinary jewellery on account of its baroque or misshapen form, introduced in a wonderfully skilful manner into the body or breast of a figure, which was completed in enamelled goldwork. In such adaptations the German jewellers, who seem to have revelled in technical difficulties, displayed extraordinary ingenuity.
Among groups of several figures employed as subjects for representation, generally within a frame of ornamental design, scenes from ancient mythology predominate, the Judgment of Paris being a very favourite theme. But Christian allegories are not excluded: besides the frequent representation of Charity with her two children or her symbol the pelican, we find Faith, Hope, and Fortitude; St. George and the Dragon or St. Michael are also frequently met with; while amongst scriptural subjects of the Old and New Testaments or the Apocrypha, the Annunciation is perhaps the most popular.
PLATE XXXI
german and french renaissance pendants
The majority of the pendants of this class show a rich and uneven outline broken by tendrils often enriched with small dots of enamel, by projecting wings of birds or amorini, by strapwork and other ornament. Occasionally a "Charity" or an "Annunciation" is placed in an architectural niche, but the architectural device is not infrequently limited to a horizontal beam formed of a row of table-cut stones and two obelisks of the same construction forming the ends to the right and left (Pl. XXXIII, 1). It is only in the smaller examples of pendants that we find the design lying flat on a plane. Generally the jewel is fashioned in relief by means of two, three, or even four superimposed planes formed of open-work plates arranged in such a manner that the lower parts are seen through openings in the upper. These are fastened together by rivets sometimes three-eighths of an inch long, and the upper field of the jewel, on which are groups of enamelled figures, is set with stones in very large pyramidal collets, so that the whole composition is increased to a considerable height. Collections contain frequent examples of this class of pendant (Pl. XXXII). One of the most elaborate, of Augsburg work dating from the end of the sixteenth century, is in the Adolphe Rothschild Bequest in the Louvre. In the centre is an enamelled group representing the Annunciation, within an architectural framework set with diamonds, rubies, and pendent pearls. The jewel, which is suspended by triple chains from an enamelled cartouche, measures in its total length 5¼ inches. It was formerly in the Debruge-Duménil Collection. Similarly large open-work pendants, enriched with enamels, precious stones, and pendent pearls, are shown attached by a ribbon to the left breast in three portraits dated 1609, representing the Princesses Elizabeth, Hedwig, and Dorothea of Brunswick, Nos. 458, 460, and 461 in the Hampton Court Gallery.
Of pendants containing groups of small enamelled figures there seems to have been an enormous production in Southern Germany towards the close of the sixteenth century, particularly in the workshops of Munich and Augsburg. These pieces, which are very charming, are greatly sought after by collectors, and are among the most highly prized of all objects of virtu at the present day. Their workmanship is extraordinarily elaborate; though not a few of them, it must be confessed, are overloaded with detail, and somewhat unsatisfactory in composition.
With the revival of the glyptic art, cameos begin to play a prominent part in jewellery. A considerable number of cameos in the great gem collections, set in exquisite jewelled and enamelled mounts, are provided with loops for use as pendants.[160] Numerous gems, splendidly mounted as pendants, are to be found in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris (Pl. XXXI, 6); and in the British Museum are a few fine examples from the Carlisle Collection. Of extant pendants having as a centre-piece a figured subject, either cut in cameo or of repoussé work enamelled, the majority show uneven contours, generally of broken strapwork, after the manner of the German ornamentists, though not a few of those of oval shape have frames with smooth outlines. Many, on the other hand, follow the cartouche design in form of shields with upturned edges. These figure chiefly in the designs of the French maîtres ornemanistes, Androuet Ducerceau and Woeiriot. The doubling of the frame characteristic of the French cartouches, and the broken contours of the German pendants, which allow of a variety of intertwinings and traversings, offer a favourite field for the display of the jeweller's art in the application of polychrome enamels.