Art Nouveau was an international artistic movement that influenced architecture, fashion, and the decorative arts and was popular between 1890 and the outbreak of the First World War. The movement was characterised by its embrace of natural forms and structures, particularly the curved lines of plants and flowers. In many ways, Art Nouveau was a reaction against the industrial production of the 19th century, seeking to revive good craftsmanship. 

The Art Nouveau jewellery movement was spearheaded by jewellers in France, who created some of the most iconic pieces of the era, along with contemporaries like Louis Comfort Tiffany in the United States and Liberty & Co. in England. The wealthy and the famous flocked to buy the distinctive, avant-garde pieces with sweeping, organic lines, and use of natural motifs, including the stylised female form. The natural world was a key inspiration with an emphasis on vine tendrils, dragonflies with their heavily veined and iridescent wings, and blooms of iris, lily, and orchids.

While the effect was sensual and mystical, symbolism was also prevalent in Art Nouveau jewellery, with designs often carrying deeper meanings or associations. For instance, the peacock, a recurring motif, symbolised beauty, and immortality.

While traditional precious stones and metals were used, Art Nouveau jewellers often experimented with new materials such as enamel, glass, and semi-precious stones. Plique-à-jour enamel, which creates a stained-glass effect, was a particularly popular technique, along with cloisonne, guilloche and champleve, enabling the jewellers to replicate the colours of the fantastical worlds they created. Traditional ‘precious’ gems were used to highlight the designs rather than form the main focus of the piece.

The aesthetic fell out of fashion with the impending outbreak of war in Europe, when the style was regarded as rather flighty and frivolous, giving way to the structured and symmetrical Art Deco period. Art Nouveau jewellery remains wearable today and is highly collectable.

Authenticity and provenance are crucial and so original pieces with documented history are particularly valued. Due to the short period of production combined with the steer away from mass manufacture at the time, genuine pieces of Art Nouveau jewellery always sell well at auction. Our specialist jewellery valuers here at Sheffield Auction Gallery are always here to help whether you are thinking of buying or selling.