Dress stud
Kitching and Abud (founded 1824)
Category
Jewellery
Date
1847 (circa)
Materials
Gold, diamond, opal, ruby, enamel, leather, satin and velvet.
Collection
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
NT 288791
Summary
A set of three linked gold dress studs dating from around 1847. The set is composed of three matching gold clusters, each set with a quatrefoil cluster of four oval opals with rubies in between and diamond centre with a fancy link gold chain connection chain. The dress studs are presented in a fitted case by Kitching & Abud.
Full description
This is probably the ‘set of studs with Opals Rubies and diamonds’ purchased by Sir John Harpur Crewe (1824-1886) from Kitching & Abud on 8 December 1847 for £22.0.0 (Derbyshire Record Office, D2375/E/A/6/2/159). They were described in the 1886 inventory of the family jewel case as a 'set of opal & ruby studs diamond centre set in dark blue enamel' (Derbyshire Record Office, D22375/H/F/2/27).
Provenance
A set of dress studs, probably those purchased on 8 December 1847 by Sir John Harpur Crewe (1824-86) from Kitching & Abud and described as a ‘set of studs with Opals Rubies and diamonds’; present at Calke Abbey in 1886, when described in the inventory of the family jewel case as a ‘set of opal & ruby studs diamond centre set in dark blue enamel’. Thence by descent to Henry Harpur-Crewe (1921-91) and transferred with Calke Abbey and its contents to the National Trust by the Treasury in lieu of Capital Transfer Tax in 1985 with an endowment provided by the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Makers and roles
Kitching and Abud (founded 1824), jeweller Kitching and Abud (founded 1824), retailer