Saint Cecelia chatelaine pendant by Froment-Meurice, French, circa 1850.

The pendant is in excellent condition.

François Désiré Froment-Meurice (1802-1855) was one of the most important French jewellery and silversmiths of the nineteenth century, described by Victor Hugo as the Cellini of his age. He exhibited in a number of International Exhibitions, where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were among his clients. The Renaissance Revival, as seen here, and the Gothic Revival were his two major decorative styles. This piece is also typical of his penchant for placing a silver figure, usually female, within a yellow gold architectural mount. The central figure and flanking putti are identical to those found on two brooches by Froment-Meurice, one in the Birmingham Museum and one in the Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim. Another brooch by Froment-Meurice, in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, features a similar central figure, but this time as an angel with wings, in a silver oval blue enamelled frame. These examples also bear a similar gold and blue enamel architectural mount, and differ only in the surrounding and pendulant embellishments.

Saint Cecelia is the patroness of music, whose feast day is celebrated each November. A Roman maiden, she was amongst the earliest and most famous of the Roman martyrs, reputedly beheaded in 230 AD under the Emperor Alexander Severus. Throughout history, Saint Cecelia has inspired musicians and poets alike, appearing in John Dryden’s 'A Song for St Cecilia’s Day', 1687, and Handel’s 'An Ode for St Cecilia’s Day', 1739. In Christian iconography and religious art, she is most often portrayed playing a viola or harpsichord.

A drawing of this design is included in Henri Vever’s ‘French Jewellery of the Nineteenth Century’, London, 2001, page 234.