Gold Jewelry and Hollowware Items at The Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England
- GREG ARBUTINE
- Nov 3
- 10 min read
Updated: Nov 3
Gold at Victoria & Albert Museum - In July of 2025, we had the pleasure of visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum located in London, England. Their collection of gold jewelry and hollowware items is absolutely amazing! They have some extraordinary crowns, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, trays, boxes and other decorative accessory items on display.
Samplings of the gold objects from their collection:
Here are a few examples of their beautiful gold art objects that we sampled from the collection:
The Castlereagh Inkstand 1817-19
The inkstand, completed in 1819, is a celebration of the return to peace, with France taking her place as one of the four great Continental powers whose arms are engraved on the top of the inkstand. The arms of the other sovereigns who gave Castlereagh boxes are engraved along the sides. At the ends are Castlereagh's arms and the British royal arms.
England, London; marks of Paul Storr and Philip Rundell for Rundell, Bridge & Rundell Gold (22 carat), with internal wooden base
Museum no.8:1 to 6-2003
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2003, with additional funding provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund (with a contribution from the Wolfson Foundation), the Friends of the V&A, and the Barber, Bryan and Vallentin Funds
The Townshend Gems
Jewellers have used coloured gemstones since antiquity. Sometimes the natural crystals were used, or stones were polished as beads or cabochon (domed) shapes. Later, gems were often faceted to bring out their colour and brilliance, though some stones such as opals are usually cabochons because their structure makes faceting difficult.
This exceptional collection of gemstones, set in gold rings, was bequeathed to the V&A in 1869 by the noted collector the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend. Many were acquired from the Hope collection, home of the famous Hope Diamond now in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
The display shows many of the gem varieties used in jewellery, with the stones grouped according to their individual species. Stones in their natural crystal form can be seen in the Natural History Museum.
Two Gold snake armlets Probably Egypt (Roman Empire)
AD 1-100
Gold and green glass Formerly in the Castellani collection
Museum no. 631&A-1884
Medallion with Christ on the Road to Calvary
Probably Southern Netherlands or France, about 1420 Embossed and chased gold Probably from an altarpiece or reliquary
Museum no. 1149-1864
Gold Pendant
Germany, 1620-30 (the base) and about 1640-50 (stone and its setting); originally made as a dress ornament
A citrine and garnets set in gold, with enamel and pearls Museum no. M.61-1975
Given by Dame Joan Evans
Gold Bracelet
Switzerland, 1991; designed by Gnyuki Torimaru (born 1940); made by
A. Weber & Co. A.G. Bern
Gold, natural pearls and diamonds Designed to accompany Gnyuki Torimaru's couture collection of 1992
Museum no. M.4-1992
Given by Mori Pearls Co. Ltd
Egyptian and Phoenician Jewellery
3000-30 BC
As early as 3000 BC the ancient Egyptians produced jewellery that linked to their religious beliefs.
They favoured gold, the colour of divinity, together with carnelian or lapis lazuli, the blue symbolising regeneration. Imitations of lapis in glass or 'faience' (glazed fused quartz) were also popular. Protective amulets taking the shape of gods, animals or various symbols were often placed in tombs.
The Phoenician civilisation originated in the area of modern Lebanon about 1000-500 BC. As traders and colonisers throughout the Mediterranean area, the Phoenicians absorbed styles from the art of Egypt, Etruria and the Greek world.
Gold Disc earrings
Italy, Tuscany (Etruria), about 530-500 BC Embossed gold, with granulation
Museum nos. 8838, 8839-1863
Gold Dress ornament Southern Europe, 1640-50 Rock crystal and garnets set in gold with enamel decoration
Museum no. M.129-1975
Given by Dame Joan Evans
Gold Box
England, Birmingham, 1837-8; mark of Nathaniel Mills
Gold decorated with a stamped relief of Windsor Castle and engine-turned
Museum no. Loan:Snowman.14-1997
Gold Box
Ireland, Dublin, 1819; mark of
Joseph Johnson
Gold, chased with a man-of-war, the English lion, Scottish thistle and Irish harp
Museum no. Loan:Snowman.13-1997
International Eclecticism 1870-1913
Fabergé items, closely associated with Imperial Russia, became more widely available after the opening of their London branch in 1903. The firm's popularity extended as far as the Court of Siam, now Thailand, who commissioned pieces to celebrate the Lunar New Year in 1913 (1).
Tradition and innovation went hand in hand. In Rome, Castellani created a paper knife in an eclectic mix of archaeological and medieval styles, but used a newly available metal, aluminium, for the blade
(4). In London, Carlo and Arthur Giuliano mounted a section of telephone cable in a chess set used by the House of Representatives and House of Commons for a transatlantic match (5).
Gold Nautilus Cup
Poland, Warsaw, dated 1770; made by Jean Martin
Nautilus shell, mounted in gold, set with carnelian, layered agate, sardonyx, chalcedony, and glass intaglios and one layered agate cameo. The central intaglio on the shell is a copy in blue glass of Diomedes stealing the palladium (the Felix Gem in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford).
Museum no. M.281-1921
Given by Mrs Carew from
the Farquhar Matheson Collection
Gold Chatelaine with pendent jewel and watch
England, London, about 1750
Chatelaine and outer case: moss agate, mounted in gold and set with diamonds in silver
Inner case: gold, mark of WI
Movement with verge escapement by John Pyke, no. 959
Inner case and movement not made for outer case and chatelaine
Pendant jewel in gold, enamel and mother-of-pearl of the centaur Nessus carrying Deianeira, probably made in Germany, about 1580
Museum no. Loan:Barclays Bank 1:1, 2
Lent by Barclays Group Archives
Gold Chatelaine and watch
England, London, 1760-70
Chatelaine: gilded metal and gold, enamelled with cupids; with gold, glass, ivory and carnelian charms
Outer case: gold, chased and enamelled with an allegorical betrothal scene; in the foreground Cupid driving away Avarice and Pride; mark of Peter Mounier Inner case: gold, mark of EF, crowned Movement with verge escapement by James Tregent, no. 350
Inner case and movement not made for chatelaine and outer case
Museum no. M.365&A, C-1923
Given by Mrs C.H. Golding-Bird
Chasing in London 1740-1790
In the late 1730s London gold chasers followed the French lead and started to work in the high Rococo style. The frames around the figure scenes on the backs of watchcases were made of sinuous scrollwork and were sometimes exuberantly asymmetric. Asymmetry can also be seen in the engraved decoration of the watchcocks and inner cases.
Gold Chatelaine with watch
England, London, about 1755
Chatelaine: gold, London marks for 1755-6, mark of EC, chased with scenes from the life of David
Outer case: gold, chased with the story of Angelica and Medoro carving their initials in a tree from the epic Orlando Furioso by the Italian poet Ariosto
Inner case: gold
Movement with verge escapement by Robert Cawley, Chester, no. 91
Museum no. M.4:1 to 5-2004
Presented by Mary Whiteley through Art Fund
Gold ''Byzantine" bracelet
Greece, Athens, 1970; designed by Ilias Lalaounis (1920-2013)
Gilded silver
Museum no. M.25-2008
Given by the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum,
Athens
International Fashions in Gold 1970-1980
Asymmetry and naturalistic textures remained fashionable in gold jewellery. Surfaces might conceal deeper meanings, as in the human forms visible in the gold of Stuart Devlin's brooch; or simply reflect the intricate construction of individual strands of gold as in David Thomas's jewellery.
Historicism found a new champion in Elizabeth Gage.
Her distinctive and colourful jewels re-interpret earlier styles with subtlety and discriminating charm.
The Greek jewellery house Ilias Lalaounis was founded in the late 1960s. Inspired primarily by jewellery from Greece's ancient past, Lalaounis looked also to the design potential of the computer, and its ability to transform a static shape into a repeating, dynamic three-dimensional form.
Gold Bracelet
England, London, 1961; designed by the sculptor F.E. McWilliam (1909-62); made by H.J. Company
Gilded silver
Museum no. Circ.9-1962
The 1961 International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery: Two
The artists' jewels exhibited at the Goldsmiths' Hall exhibition reflected a diversity of influences - from the primitive beaten gold of William Scott's pendant (4) to the fragmented, brutalist forms of F.E. McWilliam's bracelets (3, 7).
Often rough-textured and heavy, they added a fascinating new dimension to the use of metals.
As the catalogue said, they 'proved, if proof be needed, that cheap materials need not mean artistic insignificance, and that creative imagination shown with one visual art can very often be diverted to another'.
These were to be important precepts, heralding alternative priorities within jewellery, and they helped consolidate the position of the emerging artist-jewellery movement.
Gold Brooch in the form of a diesel locomotive
USA, about 1948
Gold, diamonds, sapphires and rock crystal
Commemorating the first diesel locomotive to be used by the American Lehigh Valley Railroad running from New
Jersey to Buffalo
Museum no. M.169-2007
Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Patricia V. Goldstein
'A Perfect Imitation of the Ancient Work'
1840-1890
The ancient jewellery discovered in Pompeii and Herculaneum in the 18th century, and further discoveries in Italy in the 19th century, aroused great interest. Excavated jewellery was sold and worn. Imitations were made by goldsmiths in Naples and Rome.
Fortunato Pio Castellani (1794-1865) was encouraged to make jewellery in the archaeological style by the Roman scholar and aristocrat Michelangelo Catani. His sons Augusto and Alessandro carried on the business, exhibiting to considerable acclaim at international exhibitions in Europe and the United States. Among the finest of the jewellers who followed their lead were Giuliano in London and Tiffany in New York.
Pictured above #3 Pair of pendants with a nereid on a sea horse
Italy, 1864-76; made by Castellani Gold, chased, with granulation and filigree
Made after Greek originals of about 330-300 BC, excavated at Great Bliznitza, Russia, in 1864, now in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
Possibly the versions shown by Alessandro Castellani at the international exhibitions in Philadelphia, 1876, and Paris, 1878
Acquired from the collection of
Alessandro Castellani
Museum no. 632&A-1884
Pictured above #4 Necklace Italy 1864-76; made by Castellani Gold, with plaited wire, granulation and filigree
Made after a Greek original of about 330-300 BC, excavated at Great Bliznitza, Russia, in 1864, now in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
Possibly the version shown by Alessandro Castellani at the international exhibitions in Philadelphia, 1876 and Paris, 1878
Acquired from the collection of Alessandro Castellani Museum no. 638-1884
Gold Necklace and earrings
England, about 1850
Sapphires and brilliant-cut diamonds, set in gold and silver
Adapted in the 1930s from a single row necklace to a double row, probably for Lady Cory; the earrings possibly made from parts of the necklace Museum no. M.89 to B-1951
Cory Bequest
Gold Diamond stomacher
England, London, 1854; made by R.&S. Garrard & Co.
Brilliant- and rose-cut diamonds (the largest diamond 12 carats) mounted in silver and gold
Made after the death of the 3rd Marquess from diamonds removed from the Londonderry Garter insignia (Case 79) and Castlereagh's sword (Case 80); can be divided into three brooches Museum no. Loan:Londonderry4-1999
Lent by the Marquess of Londonderry
For emeralds and pearls from the Londonderry Jewels, please see
Drawer 12 in case 79 on the mezzanine level of the Jewellery gallery.
Gold Necklace and earrings
France, Paris, 1806;
probably made by Nitot et fils
Emeralds and brilliant-cut diamonds, open-set in gold and silver; briolette-cut emerald drops
Part of a suite presented by Emperor Napoleon I to his adopted daughter
Stéphanie de Beauharnais on her marriage in 1806 to the heir of the Grand Duke of Baden
Museum no. M.3 to B-1979
Given by Countess Margharita Tagliavia in memory of her son
Gold Presentation box
Russia, St Petersburg, 1899-1903
Workmaster: Mikhail Perkhin
Varicoloured gold with enamel and brilliant-cut diamonds
On the lid the crowned cipher of Nicholas lI
Museum no. M.1-1974
Bequeathed by Sir William Seeds through the Art Fund
The Londonderry Tiara
England, London, about 1885
Brilliant cut diamonds set in silver on a gold frame
It can be mounted with pear-shaped pearls, which nearly double its height. In
1897 Theresa, wife of the 6th Marquess, added arches to make it a crown. Dressed as the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, she wore it to the Devonshire House Ball to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
Museum no. Loan:Londonderry. 9:1-1999
Lent by the Marquess of Londonderry
The Londonderry Jewels are one of the finest surviving collections of aristocratic jewellery in Britain. Their origin lies in the Down diamonds, acquired in India in the 18th century. The 1st Marquess of Londonderry inherited these diamonds and his successor, the 2nd Marquess, better known as Viscount Castlereagh, added to the collection.
Castlereagh was Foreign Secretary from 1812 to
1822. His sword and the family's Garter insignia are displayed on the mezzanine of this gallery.
In 1819 Castlereagh's half-brother, Charles, later the 3rd Marquess, married the heiress Frances Anne Vane-Tempest. She transformed both the finances of the family and its jewels. Londonderry House in Park Lane became a centre of London high society, and remained so until the mid 20th century.
Queen Victoria's Sapphire and Diamond Coronet
Prince Albert designed this coronet for his wife, Queen Victoria.
It is one of the most important jewels worn by the young queen. Albert took a keen interest in his wife's jewellery.
On 22 February 1843 Victoria recorded in her journal: 'We were very busy looking over various pieces of old jewelry of mine, settling to have some reset... Albert has such taste, and arranges everything for me about my jewels'. The coronet is articulated so Victoria could wear it either as a closed circle as in this portrait, or opened out at the back, as displayed here.
Queen Victoria
Coronet
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
England, London, 1840-42
Oil on canvas, 1842
Designed by Prince Albert
Royal Collection Trust
Commissioned from Kitching & Abud
© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018
Gold, silver, sapphires and diamonds
M.20:1-2017
Purchased through the generosity of William & Judith, Douglas and James Bollinger as a gift
Queen Victoria's Sapphire and Diamond Coronet
After Albert's death in 1861, Queen Victoria was grief-stricken and for years could not face the public ordeal of the ceremonial Opening of Parliament. But on 6 February 1866, she came in from Windsor for the event, 'Terribly nervous and agitated.
For the opening she wore 'a small diamond & sapphire coronet, rather at the back'. For this special occasion, and in this later portrait by Graves, Queen Victoria chose to wear the coronet that Albert had designed for her. It remains an enduring symbol of their love.
Queen Victoria
Henry Richard Graves (1818-82)
Oll on canvas, 1874
Royal Collection Trust
© Her Majesty Queen Ellzabeth II 2018
Queen Victoria's Bracelet
England, London, 1842
Probably made by Kitching & Abud
Gold, silver, sapphires and diamonds
Given with the coronet to Princess Mary by King George V, 1922
Loan: Met.Ane. 1-2020
ent through the generosity e
Miam & Judith, Douglas and kames Bollinge
•See die Hidden Treasures computers in the gallery
316
Conclusion: If you are a gold or jewelry collector, you definitely need to put The Jewelry Collection of The Victoria and Albert Museum on you bucket list to visit. Their incredible collection of fine gold and gemstone jewelry pieces is par excellence. You likely not see a better colleciton anywhere else.
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Greg Arbutine
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