Austrian Art Nouveau Jewelry A Critical Examination Part I

Critical examination of the jewellery of any particular period cannot fail to be practically a chapter of the history of culture. The popular saying: “Every time has the poet it deserves” is superficially true, yet holds within itself a certain element of falsehood, as does pretty well every commonplace proverb of the same kind. However, if the sentence be slightly modified, as it very well may be, so that it reads, “Every time has the jewellery it deserves,” there will be absolutely nothing untrue about it, for the ornaments worn, whether on the dress, the hair, or the person of the wearer, have always reflected in a marked degree the taste of their period, and are very distinctly differentiated from those of any other time, so that changes in fashion imply changes of a more radical description in popular feeling.

A History of personal ornament is open to many side issues, and unfolds itself in two different – indeed, opposite – directions. Primitive savages, as is well known, wear ornaments before they take to clothes. The Fiji islanders sport gold chains round their necks, and the Africans negroes in their untamed state load themselves with every glittering object they can get hold of, looking upon the multiplication of ornaments as a sign of wealth. Very different, of course, is the state of civilisation of those who look upon decoration as an evidence of art culture, and care only for such ornaments as require the exercise of technical skill in their production, valuing them in proportion to the amount of that skill displayed by their craftsmen, rather than the intrinsic value of their material. The time of the Italian Renaissance is an instance of the truth of this.

As has so often before been the case in the times of transition which are of inevitable recurrence, our own modern epoch is characterised by a certain unrest and confusion, in which many tendencies are contending with each other side by side, and neutralising, to a great extent, each other’s effects. In America, the Tiffany company seems to aim at producing masses of precious stones, which will give primarily the impression of the great wealth of their owner and producer ; whereas, in France, Lalique the jeweller endeavours rather to throw into the background the actual value of the jewels, their artistic setting being the first thing to strike the observer. We in Austria have greater leanings to France than to America, and precious stones, however great their intrinsic value, are looked upon as of quite secondary value in modern art-work to beauty of line and of colour. French influence on Austrian work cannot fail to be recognised. Its germs fell indeed on a soil of exceptional fertility, with the result that they have taken root and borne abundant fruit. It should perhaps, however, be remarked that those races who are the heirs of a strong art tradition do not need, as do others less fortunate, to prove the wealth of their inheritance by the use of lavish ornament. Their inherent artistic culture is indeed evidenced by the fact that they expect their artists to exercise their skill on materials less costly than do those who, to a certain extent, have their reputations still to make. Benvenuto Cellini had to be content to work in silver, the Americans want to have every stick or umbrella-handle to be of gold.

If we cast a glance, however hasty and cursory it may be, over the development of jewellery in Vienna, noting the forms most popular in that city in past times, it is impossible not to be struck with the way in which every historical phase of art is reflected in these forms. The favourite style with Viennese jewellers, and that in which the most effective, and at the same time the most characteristic, results have been achieved was undoubtedly the so-called baroque – a term originally restricted to a precise architecture or art-style alone, but now loosely applied to characterise any ornamental design of an unusual kind. It is in this half-serious, half-sportive style, with its grotesque yet bold effects and its complete freedom from convention, that the finest pieces of Austrian jewellery have been produced. At the time of the great Congress of Vienna, when the representatives of the Powers met in that city to settle the affairs of Europe after the fall of Napoleon – that is to say, about one hundred years later than the first introduction of the baroque style from Italy, French work, though it was of a crude description, exercised an influence over Austrian jewellers, and what seemed like a second renaissance of the art of ornament began in Austria.

The art of jewellery in Austria remained under French influence almost until the present day in fact, throughout the whole of the 19th century and it has only been in the last year that Austrian art industries have been set free from the foreign yoke which so long oppressed them, so that the true Viennese style of jewellery has but rarely come to the fore. Now at last, however, the liberating influence of the modern spirit is making itself felt in the art of jewellery, as in everything else ; and every ornament produced, whether in precious stones or in enamel, bears the unmistakable impress of the distinctive psychic character of our capital city, which even foreigners do not fail to recognise. The result of this individuality is that a work of art is indissolubly bound up with the personality of its creator, and with the idiosyncrasies of the town which was its birthplace.

In Austria men wear very little jewellery, and the only noteworthy examples of ornaments made for them which can be quoted are a few rings and charms, the former perhaps adorned with designs in low- relief. The flat gold circle of the wedding-ring, which can be easily carried in the waistcoat pocket, and the engagement-ring, the psychic meaning of which is clear enough, the latter generally bearing one large diamond or other precious stone, do not afford much scope for the aesthetic feeling of their makers. A man who ventures to wear much jewellery is called old-fashioned, but there are still people who dare to sport a single great diamond or some other simple ornament on their shirt fronts. A pearl without setting, an emerald, or so-called sapphire en cabochon are still frequently seen. The present fashion allowing men to tie their cravats in all manner of different styles to suit their own particular fancy, has led to the manufacture of a few varieties of scarf rings which admit of a certain amount of artistic intertwining of the gold, if it be gold of which they are made. When the making of jewellery for men is left to the unfettered imagination of the artist, he generally produces something quaintly original and fantastic, such as queer figurals, grotesque masks, comic caricatures of human or half-human figures or faces, etc.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that there is far more activity in the production of jewellery for women in Vienna than in almost any other city. The culture of our town is, indeed, essentially feminine. The graceful and witty, yet dreamy and passionate, girls and women of Vienna give to it its distinctive character. A foreigner who once spent two days only in our capital was yet able to say of it, that all through his wanderings in its streets and alleys the rhythm of female culture was sounding in his ears. The men of Vienna pride themselves more than the French, more even than the people of Northern Europe, on their women, and as a result of this pride there is sure to be plenty of beautiful jewellery of varied design to be met with in the town in which they live.

- W. Fred.
Modern Austrian Jewellery (1902)

Continued Part II

Editor’s Note: Please keep in mind that foregoing was written in 1902 and all opinions and social comments are those of the author and not necessarily shared by Antique-Trails.com.

Tagged as: antique, Art Nouveau, Austrian, brooch, chain, clasp, Fischmeister, history, J. Hofstetter, jewelry, Otto Prutscher, pendant, Roset, W. Fred