Russian “Japonisme” brooch

Description

Russian “Japonisme” gold, turquoise guilloché enamel & jewelled brooch
By A.A. Treiden, St. Petersburg 1908-26, in its original fitted case
3.7cm wide

With workmaster’s mark for Alexander Adolfovich Treiden and hallmark for St Petersburg. 3.7cm wide

Alexander Adolfovich Treiden was a merchant of the second guild from 1892 to 1917. His workshop and gold and silver articles’ store was in Nevsky prospect, 42. In 1908 he was the Assaying Inspectorate’s Deputy inspecting the workshops and stores .

When Commodore Perry convinced the Japanese to open ports to the west in 1854, their country had been isolated for two centuries. Europeans and Americans were amazed by what they saw. Traders started carrying back objects and works of art, and western artists and artisans began making work influenced by the Japanese aesthetic and techniques.

At the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867 the public could see for the first time a Japanese-curated display of paper, porcelain, textiles, baskets, netsuke and wood cuts.
The term Japonisme, given to works influenced by Japan’s arts, was not coined for another 20 years, but this is where it was born. When the exhibition closed there was a stampede to buy the contents of its Japanese pavilion.

Japonisme inspired gold- and silversmiths including Fabergé, Falize, Boucheron and Cartier. Westerners were captivated by the attentiveness, poetry and wit of Japanese observations of nature.