VICTORIAN 9CT GOLD PASTE AND PEARL SPIDER PENDANT

The spider pendant is one of the great Victorian jewellery forms and this is a wonderful example. The body is set with a large vivid blue cushion cut paste stone in an open back setting, the light passing directly through the stone giving it a clarity and brightness that foiled paste cannot match. The head is set with a small split pearl, the eight legs spreading out in naturalistic gold wire. At 2.3 x 1.8cm it has real scale and impact.
Darwin's The Origin of Species, published in 1859, sparked a public fascination with the natural world that translated directly into jewellery. Insects, spiders and creatures of all kinds became fashionable motifs throughout the 1860s and 1870s, and the spider carried its own particular symbolism — considered a powerful good luck charm, believed to bring fortune and ward off poverty.
The paste stone shows light surface scratching consistent with age. All legs intact. Fitted with a jump ring, ready to wear.
2.2 grams. Tested 9ct gold. No hallmarks. Excellent condition