Sunday 27 October 2013

The Cheapside Jewel Hoard


The other day an old friend and I went to see the Cheapside Hoard exhibition.  This is a mysterious collection of astonishing jewellery that's thought to have formed the stock of a goldsmith's shop.  It was buried before the Great Fire of London in 1666 for reasons that are unknown.  After the Fire had consumed the houses above, nobody thought to dig too deep in the ruins.  Instead, more houses (obviously not ones with very good foundations) were built. They were occupied for hundreds of years - and still nobody knew the Hoard was there.

In 1912, the Goldsmiths' Company, which owned the houses, had them demolished  (ouch! how treasured they'd be now - but in those days, there were no laws about building preservation).  Digging deep into the foundations, the navvies working on the demolition finally unearthed the jewels.

Needless to say, they thought it was their lucky day, so they hot-footed it off to "Stony Jack" a pawnbroker in Wandsworth. "Jack" took pains to let navvies know that he paid great prices for anything really old, and even if he didn't want it, he still gave you the price of a drink. Here he is, and I'd say he looks as if he was doing well.


So the Hoard was dispersed, but it has now been reassembled and restored, and this show, at the Museum of London, is the first time it's been available for public view since that anonymous goldsmith closed his shop for the very last time nearly 400 years ago.

There's such a lot to think about in the show (apart from considering the beauty of the jewels themselves). I learned that the links of this enamel and diamond necklace would have each been separately formed, and the enamelling, jewel setting and so on were probably done by various different specialists.

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Necklaces were often vastly long, worn in hoops of ever ascending size, sometimes stitched onto clothing to keep them in place.   And to me the most fascinating aspect was the symbolic and magical aspect of the jewellery.

Elizabethan portraits are full of symbolism and hidden meanings, and I have long been looking for a book that really explains them. (If you know of one, please let me know).  For instance, the necklace above shows red and white roses, and the point of that is that they combine the symbols of the houses of York (white rose) and Lancaster (red rose) to symbolise the Tudor dynasty.

And the round jewel prominently shown around the neck of the lady below is not a watch. It is a pendant, showing a column against a wheel of fortune, and it means "steadfastness in bad times".  It likely related to something in her family history.  Much of her other jewellery would have meant something too, right down to the choice of gemstones.


Rings might be stitched onto the clothing as a way of showing how important the wearer thought their meaning was.  A remembrance ring, perhaps, for someone who has passed on.


I only took a few photos in the show.  I didn't see any signs saying not to do it, and none of the security guards stopped me, but I felt somehow a bit uncomfortable. But the display was so interesting that I am going to return and see it again.   I really want to take another look at this watch, for instance, carved out of a gigantic emerald - sorry it's not a very good photo.


By the way,  just to get an idea of the impact of the earrings at the top of this post, take a look at the context, below.  Nothing reticent about these rich Elizabethans, eh?



Later that day, T and I went out and picked some late flowers in the garden, and as T was carrying our little bunch past a huge shadowy hedge a ray of sunshine pierced the hedge and caught the flowers.  I had the camera so took a picture, it looked quite unreal.  To me they look as beautiful, in their own way, as the jewels in the Cheapside Hoard.


Some practical info about the exhibitions. Here is how to get to the museum.   The show runs till 27 April 2014.  There are magnifying glasses available for loan, but you might like to take your own.  Security is very tight - you enter through iron turnstiles - and you're not allowed to bring bags inside, so be prepared.  An adult ticket is £10 and there are many concessions, but admission to the museum itself is free.



36 comments:

  1. This is a fascinating post, Jenny -- I love the story behind it -- and of Stony Jack! What an amazing feat to pull together such a significant part of the collection. And they really are beautiful. The symbolism issue is fascinating I'm not familiar with any books on Elizabethan art but at the Vermeer Center in Delft they had a wonderful exhibit that included a section on the symbolism used at the time Vermeer was painting -- at least in Holland.

    I loved you comments on my Marmelade Gypsy post about the heron walk and the wine tasting. I think the thing we all learn from wine tasting is that there are a few things you can look for and learn about it, but all in all the big thing is (as you said) "What I like!" And I'd add to that "and what I can afford, even if I like it!" Come on across the pond and we'll have a tasting in your honor!

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  2. Love your new header!
    Those jewels are beautiful and the story behind them very interesting. Sigh, the only thing that was here before my house was a cow pasture.......

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  3. I've never heard of the Cheapside Hoard but it's an absolutely fascinating story - - and the jewels are incredibly beautiful (Stony Jack got one heckua good deal.....)
    I've also never heard of a book that fully explains the symbolism and hidden meanings in Elizabethan portraits but I'm sure one exists somewhere.
    I'd really hate having to wear any of that torturous Elizabethan clothing. I have enough trouble getting into jeans and a T shirt.....

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  4. I saw an article about the Horde and wished that I could see the exhibition.
    When you talk about poor foundations, I remember when my husband bought a building off the Tottenham Court Road...it was four storeys high and rested on brick foundations almost rotten with water, dating from the last years of the eighteenth century.
    Still standing though....

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  5. How absolutely fascinating. I don't think I knew a single thing that you mentioned. The emerald watch is quite spectacular if not particularly beautiful. For me, though, the real beauty is not in the jewellery at all but in the posy. That truly is beautiful.

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  6. Indeed, another fascinating post
    Those earrings are huge. I wonder if they were also used to hang on chains for necklaces.

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  7. I love the weight and volume of English history. So much of it, and even five hundred year old history still carries symbolic mysteries. Why did the shop owner bury his stock? But such beautiful and beautifully crafted things to look at.

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  8. I'm fascinated by the symbolism of things in paintings , jewellery, churches ..I have a book about symbolism in religious paintings of middle age.
    I like the way you show that flowers can be as beautiful as jewels, very poetic point of view!

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  9. What a great story - it would make a wonderful novel!! And the photos are lovely - glad you had such an inspiring day.

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  10. I wonder what the punch-card pattern in her skirt and sleeves mean...

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  11. Amazing historical find, a story I'm just learning about for the first time, and is extremely interesting. It would be wonderful to tour. Thank you for sharing the photos that you did. Also, your flowers are quite stunning too I agree. Do I see a couple of Snap Dragon flowers in that bunch?

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  12. This is the first I've heard of the Cheapside Jewel Hoard. Your posts are always full of fascinating places and events and I love reading about them. Thanks.

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  13. Hi Jenny. Interesting info on the exhibition. I am planning to visit it next week with my Dad so it is useful to know the bag thing! It is such an interesting collection. There have been lots of articles in magazines recently so I have seen pictures of quite a bit of it. Can't wait to see it for real!

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  14. Such a beautiful exhibit! Finding such a collection would be a treasure hunter's dream.

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  15. Thank you for the nice and kind comments, everyone.... hope you enjoy the show, Sarah! I had somehow missed everything about it in the press, but luckily my friend had spotted it all!

    Karen, you are right, nasturtiums and snapdragons!

    Yes, Jo, there is something quite dramatic in the idea. THe museum has a little film suggesting one possibility about what happened....

    Joanne, I sometimes have to shake myself to realise how far back history goes. What's more, that MY ancestors lived in that world, and the world 1000 years before it too. Wow!! It really does blow my mind

    Maywyn, I had not thought about hanging the earrings elsewhere. They might have been quite uncomfortable to wear on the ears, come to think of it.....

    Jeanie, next time I go to the Netherlands I really must visit Delft. I went there as a kid of 10 and didn't really appreciate it - to nobody's surprise!!!

    Bonnie, I think there was a cow pasture before my house too. Although it seems hard to believe it now.... lol

    Zhoen, the pattern on the dress did strike me too. Reminds me a little of the work of Klimt actually, who might have liked the Elizabethan age, come to think of it ...




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  16. How interesting...very intriguing...and so easily they could have been lost forever. And to be reassembled is unbelievable...but as it's been said...."fact is stranger than fiction"...

    A fascinating, wonderful post, Jenny...thank you. :)

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  17. What an intriguing mystery about the old jewelry! And I never had any idea that jewelry had significance and meaning - I thought it was just meant to be pretty.

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  18. Hi Jenny!

    These are marvelous gems suspended in air, at least that's the way the photos look. How incredible they were lying in wait for nearly 400 years.

    The jewelry reminds me of the Maharajah Exhibit at the Asian Museum in San Francisco. It was full of the splendor, it seems, appropriated by the British! As I was merely an observer without the feelings an Indian might have been experiencing going through the exhibit, I let myself be carried away with admiring oohs and aahs! (How could anyone not be moved by the beauty though.)

    In contrast, a recent Bulgari exhibit at the De Young Museum in SF left me cold. Perhaps it was because I had just come out of a mind-blowing Richard Diebenkorn exhibit, full of nearly abstracted paintings with vibrant colors. Or it could just have been that the jewels, tiaras, and other playthings of the rich and famous struck me as too commercial and magazine glossy. I suppose I should still give Bulgari credit for creating exquisite pieces. I just wasn't moved, at least, not in the right direction.

    I'm glad you were able to sneak in a few pics of this exhibit! I would have loved to see these pieces in person. They all carry the weight of history inside those gemstones!

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  19. Oh my goodness! I had not heard of this hoard- mind blown! The emerald box thing- wow! astonishing! I would so love to join you on your next visit to the exhibit, too far away...thanks for this post, it sets my mind, my imagination, whirring

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  20. The Museum of London is one of my favourite museums, I've been there every time I manage a trip to London. This exhibition sounds like something I'd very much enjoy. The history behind the exhibits is fascinating, and I am glad the hoard was gathered together and can now be looked at, so many years after it was hidden!

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  21. This is a really interesting post, Jenny. I would love to see the exhibition. Imagine sewing rings on garments, you couldn't imagine modern generations doing such a thing.

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  22. A very interesting story and an exhibition I know I would absolutely love, Jenny. Thank you for sharing it, and your great photos. The ear-rings are so beautiful and the emerald box/watch quite amazing. And you are right, the posy is just as beautiful too. Great post!

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  23. That looks like an amazing collection. And how fascinating that it was buried for so long before being rediscovered. I notice that woman's incredibly narrow waist - very likely she was too busy trying to breathe to appreciate the jewellery! And yes, those flowers are almost as spectacular as the jewels.

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  24. Beautiful gems with a fascinating history. I too would love a book filled with the meanings associated with the jewelry. I never knew about the rings sewn onto the costume. As always, I learned something new when I visited your blog.

    Darla

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  25. Utterly fabulous! I have until April to finagle a visit to London! Thank you so much for such a wonderful account of the hoard and its history...

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  26. Jenny, splendid exhibition!
    I liked the story of the old goldsmiths and hoard.
    Of course this is an excellent jeweler work. especially the beautiful earrings at the first photo/

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  27. A fascinating story. The museum is one of my favorites. I wish I could view the exhibit.

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  28. I like your blog so much. Now for books on symbolism.
    I have one I am reading now; Ariadne's Clue, a guide to the symbols of Humankind by Anthony Stevens. Its a bit dry, but of course fascinating although its main focus is not art. Not well illustrated.
    The second is a bit better. Still Life by Norbert Schneider. This is a Taschen book so is lushly illustrated. The focus is on early still life however; lots of 17th century, Italian, Dutch. Its interesting and I'm glad I bought it, but I'm still searching ~

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  29. Thanks for the further comments, and Julie, I love your pots!! Thank you also to those who have made book suggestions. There are lots of books on related topics, at any rate and I find it hard to believe that some academic hasn't decided to write a book on Elizabethan artistic symbolism!

    Nick, it makes me quite uncomfortable to look at some of these old portraits. Bad enough when you are young and (relatively) slim but I pity the older women who had to try and cram themselves in ! :)

    Jenny, I know what you mean about Bulgari. I think that one difference might be that the Elizabethan (and all older) jewellery is made by individuals using skills developed over many years. I always feel that brands like Bulgari create works put together by marketing experts. Maybe I am being unfair though? What do you think?

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  30. I never made it inside that museum for some reason! Great show.

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  31. I can see how you would be fascinated by jewellery in portraits, and its hidden meaning. I’d heard of the Cheapside Hoard but I must admit my knowledge was a bit vague. It’s a good story and the exhibition sounds fascinating.

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  32. what an intriguing collection...how big is that watch of emerald? imagining it to weigh a good bit....intersting to the sewing of the jewelry on...seems a bit over the top but...smiles.

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  33. This is such a remarkable story, and I love the mystery element of it. I am very attracted to many of the jewels as I like Elizabethan looking jewels the way the stones are crudely cut and the gold is so gold. I must make the effort to attend this before it closes. Thanks for sharing! x

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  34. What a fantastic story! And isn't marvelous that it is all together again. I didn't know necklaces were used as such 'drapes' and stitched to clothing. I think I'll have to read up on the history of fashion now. Fascinating! Thanks for the photos, Jenny. I understand your hesitation in taking them, but I'm glad you did :-)

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  35. What a fabulous post Jenny! I was intrigued in the Cheapside Hoarde but I really want to visit now after seeing your photos and narrative. Those rose jewels are so beautiful.

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