Art Nouveau Peacock Feather Bracelet

Description

Our Art Nouveau Peacock Feather Bracelet is based on an enamel belt buckle (ca. 1900) in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. In France, high-quality and affordable jewelry in the Art Nouveau style made by Piel Frères (Paris, active 1855–1925) included fashionable decorative buckles. The original enameled belt buckle, created by Frères, is in the shape of a peacock feather. This or an identical example received critical praise at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

24K gold overlay, hand enameled. 2''W; Inner circumference: 6 3/4''. Hinged with a hidden push-lock safety closure.

Art History

In part a reaction to the mechanization of the Industrial Revolution, Art Nouveau (“new art”), with its flowing lines, whiplash curves, and lavish botanical and animal patterns, originated in France and Belgium in the 1880s. Reaching its pinnacle at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, it spread throughout Western Europe and the United States, influencing everything from jewelry to furniture design. Lasting up until the First World War, Art Nouveau’s fluid style can be seen as a metaphor for creative freedom and a release from the weight of artistic tradition.