Smoke and mirrors: the enhancement and simulation of gemstones in Renaissance Europe

• Autores: Joanna Whalley
• Localización: The Renaissance Workshop / David Saunders (ed. lit.), Marika Spring (ed. lit.), Andrew Meek (ed. lit.), 2013, ISBN 978-1-904982-93-7, págs. 79-89
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Trade links for gemstones improved and expanded during the Renaissance, although the most desirable relied on contacts in exotic and often dangerous locations. The display of gems that were bold in colour and size reinforced the owner's status. In consequence, the enhancement of more humble materials, combined with clever setting, was a valued art. Gems were most commonly set in closed-back settings, a practice that enable setters to employ a broad palette of techniques undetected. Methods included the use of pigments, oils, resins and dyes; the introduction of foils, textiles and patinated metals; the use of pastes (glass); and the manufacture of doublets and triplets. Over time the colours of some of these simulants and enhancements have faded, or in some cases been lost completely, thus changing the overall interpretation of the object.

    As part of an ongoing survey of gem materials at the Victoria ans Albert Museum, London (V&A), the gems in over 80 European objects dating from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century have been assessed. The original aim of this survey was simply to identify the species of gem material and the style of cut. However, the level of artifical gemstone enhancement encountered was unexpectedly high, which led to a study of contemporaneous documents, material from which can be compared directly to the surviving evidence in jewels and paintings of the period.