Brooch Question - Repro?

jauntyrooster

jauntyrooster

Alumni
I recently purchased a huge lot of jewelry and have been sorting through. It runs the gamut as far as dates and quality so no hard fast rule with help with the pieces. I originally passed this piece over thinking it was a reproduction piece. Today I happened to look again and started wondering - esp. after all of the great info Linn provided.

The glue on the piece just doesn't feel right to me - that is what threw me off to begin with but there are other parts that seem older - which I know can be reproduced of course.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Before I put in $2.00 junk pile just want to make sure...

Thank you so much!!!


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I don't think it's "new." The tube hinge and the safety catch don't "match" but the catch could have been broken and a new one added. What is the portrait made of? Is the material it's on stone? It reads like paint in your photo - and the back looks like marble. Carrie mentioned transfers versus original prints in a post sometime last weekend, but this looks like it's painted directly onto the material.

I really don't know much about this type of piece but I would wait until you get more opinions before you toss it in the $2.00 pile. I think it looks "older." I'm not sure how old. Visit Jewel Chat and Cathy Gordon's sites and look at portrait pins.

Where is the glue???

Linn
 
I agree with everything Linn has said!

It's a lovely pin, and nothing about it says "new" or "repro" to me... in fact everything about it (twist frame, tube hinge, hairstyle of the woman in the portrait) looks pretty darn old to me!

There seems to be solder around the safety catch? If so, that would bear out what Linn has suggested about it being a replacement for the original catch when it broke.

Definitely get some more opinions and do some more research on portrait pins. And don't toss in the $2 heap!
 
linn, i can see the glue in the last photo, on the inside near the bottom right, and a bit more on the left.

and that's all the help i am on this, lol! except to say it's very charming.
 
Hi Linn,

You can see the glue on the back. It shows as yellow in two spots in pic. Will look more at site you suggest. Having trouble figuring out material because it seems to be coated in something. Will do some more looking.

Thanks so much. I thought clasp didn't match the pin itself...and I learned that from your workshop info! ;)

Maureen
 
I agree with Carrie & Linn--it looks pretty old to me, too!

Even if it were a repro, which I don't think it is, it would probably be worth more than $2! So.... don't put that in your junk pile!
 
Am def holding off. Sent to friend who is art history buff to see if he has any thoughts on style of painting. The girl is odd. Her proportions are off and her neck is at weird angle. I feel like I have seen something similar in a class so am hoping it might strike a chord with him.

Thanks again. Of course, if anyone else has thoughts, love to hear them. So glad I took another look at this one and posted here.
 
I agree with Nicolle that the portrait is of a child. I didn't find anything similar on a quick scan through both of the sites I suggested but will look in Warman's today and let you know if I find something.

Linn
 
I have been looking and looking online. I have learned a lot but I have really only found 1 other portrait of a child with similar characteristics. If nothing else, it is fun to research. I have found that there aren't a lot of these portraits with children on them - perhaps this child passed away (from a broken neck from the looks of this picture - haha)?

Thanks Linn!
 
I had a free credit with valuemystuffnow.com so I sent this brooch in to see if they could provide any more information. Below is what they returned. I have to say, most of what they said here is information I provided to them from all of you. I have now had two less than stellar interactions with valuemystuffnow.com and can't say I recommend them. They do have a "vintage clothing" expert on staff - or so they claim. I sent in a coat to see about getting more information and had basically the same experience - they regurgitated the information I had provided them.

Here is the information and THANK YOU all again! After this I am pondering starting my own online vintage valuation service and hiring all of you as my experts! We could all become rich! :)

Description:
A porcelain portrait brooch, mid 19th century, the porcelain roundel enamel painted with the head of a young girl, in a pinchbeck? mount with twisted ribbon like rim.
Measurements:
Height: 1.25 inches, Width: 1.50 inches
Date:
Mid 19th century.
Value:
$40 - $60
Additional Comments:
It is difficult to tell the setting from the images but it looks like pinchbeck.

I then sent them an email indicating that I was less than impressed and here is the response:

With regard to the most recent valuation, there is not really much more we could tell you. It is not possible to tell if it is definitely pinchbeck without handling it or getting it tested. The portrait is not finely painted and cannot be attributed to a particular painter; it is possble that this has been put together at a later date but it is impossible to tell from the images and it will not affect the value. This type of costume jewellery is not popular at auction at the moment, hence the low auction estimate.

Sadly - I think learned more from their response to my complaint email above than their initial valuation!

Again - thanks to everyone for their information and input. Just posted as I thought some of you might be interested to see.
 
Something about the painting itself is saying Spanish Colonial style to me.

The colors, the way the eyes and lips are painted...Of course that cover s a lot of territory, from Europe to Mexico and countries in South America.
 
Wow - some of this pins are gorgeous - thank you for the link.

I think I am just going to hold on to it for now. No rush.

I forgot the really funny part - they are supposed to send you an appraisal within 48 hrs. I got an email from them after the 48 hours had expired explaining that they needed more time to perform research. RESEARCH? That is kind of a laugh.
 
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