Art Nouveau Iris oval mirror locket

As engines roared to life in countries across the globe at the turn of the 20th century, the Art Nouveau movement slammed on the breaks. Artists were rejecting the rigid industrialism being fed to them and reverted into a fantasy land.

Intoxicated by the natural world, jewellers began to mimic the lines, colours and forms of nature. Florals in all their varieties were created, each petal carved from precious gemstones. Rock crystal was polished to represent the drops of morning dew, Ivory was carved to showcase ethereal human faces and plique-a-jour enamelling techniques were invented to allow life-like representations of insect wings.

Mixed within this dreamscape, erotic themes began to emerge, nude figures were depicted with wings, animal bodies would appear with expressive human faces and rings which appeared to be raw gold, are on closer inspection a tangle of sensual bodies.