Necklace
Category
Jewellery
Date
c. 1813
Materials
Measurements
2.7 x 2.3 cm; 105 cm (Length)
Collection
Carlyle's House, London
NT 263888
Summary
Berlin Iron Work and Cameo necklace, owned by Jane Welsh Carlyle. Given to her by Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe, early 19th century.
Full description
Chain comprised of interconnected loops of iron emulating a herringbone style, no clasp. Pendant cameo of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (chain threaded through loop). Cameo (red glass?) is secured in an octagonal frame ornamented with flowers.
Provenance
The wrought iron chain and pendant was a gift to Jane Carlyle from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832, a German writer and statesman) in 1827. The necklace was originally given to Goethe’s wife Christiane Vulpius (d.1816) in thanks for War Effort services. The pendant cameo (an engraved glass portrait of Goethe) is likely later than the chain, probably made 1800-1816. In this period cameos ceased to become collectors' items and instead became standard items of fashionable jewellery. The Carlyles married in 1826 and a letter dating around 1827 makes mention of the chain. As Thomas Carlyle and Goethe corresponded and exchanged gifts (including a book of poems dedicated to the married couple (NT 3064862)), the necklace may have been intended as a wedding present for Jane. The necklace was in the possession of descendants of the Carlyle family until 2019 when it was offered as a gift to the National Trust. The necklace was offered by the children of Betty Mitchell and Mary Harland, with the request that it was credited as their mothers' gift to the Carlyles' House.
Credit line
A gift from Betty Mitchell and Mary Harland , Thomas Carlyle's great grand nieces