Adam's Fine Jewellery & Watches Tuesday 14th September 2021

69 The late 19th century onwards until the 1950s and 60s saw a huge fascination by jewellers with the representation of birds in jewellery. This trend echoed the growing penchant for decorative naturalism and a passion for romanticising the natural world and derived from the increase in major scientific expeditions, the creation of large colonial empires and the widespread popularity of taxidermy inWestern Europe. Natural history museums, zoos and richly illustrated ornithological publications inspired a growing penchant for exotic birds amongst the wealthy classes. Not only did birdwatching become a popular activity, but owning a bird of paradise was seen as a symbol of status, affluence and a stamp that the individual was well-travelled. Ever-present in mythology, a constant source of inspiration for liter- ature and the arts, exotic birds also came to be represented in the world of jewellery. As such, without necessarily owning a specimen, wearers of ornithological jewellery thereafter invoked in their audience ideas of travel, luxury and an appreciation of the natural world. Brooches played an especially important role in the way that bird species of all kinds remained popular for over a century of jewellery design – from the mid-nineteenth century up until the 1960s.The sheer beauty of birds, alongside the vast diversity of their shapes, lines, colours and poses, allowed jewellers to experiment with creating such pieces, unlike any other animal. Over time, the use of birds as motif in jewellery design came to signify something far greater than beauty or status, and in many cases the bird was used to represent or symbolise a cause or ideal.The turtledove was strongly connotated with love, whilst the peacock remained a clear symbol of exoticism and luxury. DuringWorldWar II, French jewellers including Cartier created brooches of caged birds as a symbol of freedom and patrio- tism during the German Occupation and at the time of the Liberation, several jewellers includingVan Cleef &Arpels, used birds in their jeweller as a decided signifier of France’s new-found freedom. As such, Pierre Sterlé, maker of this exquisite brooch pictured was certainly not alone in his fascination with depicting birds in jewel- lery.The continued presence of ornithological species in brooches and pendants throughout the mid-20th century is testament to their unfailing popularity amongst buyers, from the Parisian elite to his clients further afield.Yet it was Sterlé’s invention of the ‘angel-thread’ technique which served to revolutionise the depiction of birds in the jewellery world. He was one of the most innovative artisans of the 20th century and whilst the use of his gold-plaiting and threading technique was most pertinent in the emulation of birds, goldsmiths soon acquired it in a host of new designs which allowed the artist to reproduce the finesse and density of textures from the natural world.