Date: Fri 26-Mar-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: CAROLL

Quick Words:

Wilton-Eye

Full Text:

Wilton Section

Eye Of The Beholder

At an antiques show in the 1980s, I spotted a little ivory brooch with an eye

painted in its center. As I glanced around the case, the eye followed me,

beckoning like a lover. I bought it and later showed it to a friend. "Ugh, the

evil eye," she exclaimed. I was crestfallen.

Evil eye? Lover's eye? It is all in the eye of the beholder. The eye, however,

has been a source of artistic inspiration since ancient times. The Egyptians

looked upon it as an amulet to ward off danger. The Masonic order, which dates

back to Medieval times and which counts George Washington among its members,

adopted the eye as a symbol on its emblem. The Italian painted eyes on the

cupolas of their churches and the French state police in the Eighteenth

Century used it as a sign of watchfulness on their badges and belt buckles.

Even in the Twentieth Century, surrealist painters, such as Salvador Dali,

used it as a motif in their art.

But it was in jewelry and Objets de Vertue, particularly in France and England

during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, that the eye reached its

height as a source of artistic expression. During the French Revolution, the

eye appeared on snuffboxes, lockets, stock pins and rings as a kind of sign of

recognition between like-minded revolutionaries. One such snuffbox has a blue

eye painted on the lid surrounded by red and white stripes, the three colors

together forming that of the French Revolution's tricolor.

But it remained for the English to incorporate the eye motif extensively into

jewelry, making it a love token and fashion statement. The vogue arose out of

a love affair between the Prince of Wales, who was to become George IV, and

Maria Fitzherbert, a wealthy widow from an old Roman Catholic family. Since

Maria was no virgin noble lady and a Catholic to boot, her liaison with George

was extremely unpopular, not only with the parliament and the royal family,

but with the English people as well.

Nevertheless, the couple persisted and lived together on and off for many

years between 1785 and 1800. During the height of their relationship, it was

reported that Mrs Fitzherbert commissioned the famous Eighteenth Century

miniaturist, Richard Cosway, to paint her right eye as a birthday present for

the prince. In return, George had his eye painted by Cosway and set it into a

ring for Mrs Fitzherbert. This exchange of lovers' eyes, with the obvious

implication that "my eye will always be upon you," set the vogue for eye

jewelry.

Sometimes entire families had their eyes painted, from grandmother to baby.

They were set in lockets with hair on the back; in bracelets, rings and

necklaces (see figures 1, 2 and 3). In some cases, the sex was identifiable,

but in most it was not. Eyes could be blue, brown or havel. A cloud might

float overhead, or a lock of hair frame the face (see figure 4). The best were

those in which the eye was clear, liquid and beautifully modulated. At its

worst, the eye could look lifeless, like that of a dead fish. The ivory was

set either in gold or a base metal and depending upon the amount of money the

sitter wanted to spend, the piece could be surrounded with pearls (see figures

1, 2, 3, and 4), garnets, amethysts, turquoise, or even diamonds.

The fashion for eye jewelry continued throughout the Georgian and early

Victorian periods. While the jewelry was popular in its day, it was never

produced in abundance. Today, it rarely appears on the market, and is mostly

purchased by ardent collectors. Buyers should beware of late Nineteenth

Century and Twentieth Century copies, as well as examples in which eyes have

been cut out of full faced miniatures and mounted to look like Georgian eye

jewelry. Thanks to Dr G.C. Williamson and Ms Mary Martin, who each published

research in early issues of Connoisseur magazine, we do have some early and

reliable information on the subject.

As for George IV and Mrs Fitzherbert, they continued their romance even after

he married Princess Caroline in 1785. Cosway painted another miniature of Mrs

Fitzherbert, this time full face, which was mounted in a locket and surrounded

with diamonds. The King adored the miniature; wore it every day and instructed

that he be buried with it -- a sign of the love and passion that jewelry can

embody.