A Guide to Art Nouveau Jewellery

Discover the backdrop and inspiration for the fluid lines and bright animal motifs of Art Nouveau era jewellery.

Art Nouveau was all about the “new”: new lines, new materials, new subject matter. The combination of Japonisme and natural subject matter produced ingenious and whimsical creations. The origin of this rapid change was the reopening of trade with the East in 1868. The Japanese artists with their simple, elegant interpretations of nature – known as Japonisme – had a huge influence on artists looking to break free from the machine-made, fussy design of the Victorian era. Inspired by the simplicity of form, Art Nouveau jewellery designers incorporated the close bond with nature and intense use of colour in Japanese design into their own fantastical creations.

A Style Revolution

An art dealer called Samuel Bing gave his Asian art gallery a new name – ‘Art Nouveau‘ – in response to this new artistic mood. Bing held an international exhibition in 1895 to re-open the gallery, inviting influential artists from across the globe. This exhibition crystallised the brief but significant Art Nouveau movement.

Themes & Motifs

A key element of the Art Nouveau style, which extended across all artistic mediums, was the free-flowing line (also known as the ‘whiplash’ line). These fluid lines mimic the movement and natural curves of nature, from ocean waves to flowers to the naked human form.

There are many recurring themes and motifs in Art Nouveau jewellery. Insects such as dragonflies, butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, and spiders were favourite subjects. Snakes remained an important symbol, newly sensual and colourful after the coiled golden snakes of the Victorian era. Colourful reptiles and birds with their magnificent plumage were depicted sensually and playfully. Bats, owls and grotesque mythological creatures formed the darker side of Art Nouveau jewellery design- miniature landscapes often featured too.

Largely rejected by the Victorians, the ‘cult of the female figure’ was prevalent in Art Nouveau jewellery, in all its soft, feminine, naked curves.

Techniques & Materials

Art Nouveau jewellers used revolutionary techniques and materials to achieve the fluid aesthetic of the era. Skilled craftsmen coaxed metals into soft curves. Though gemstones like shimmering opal and rich ruby were popular, artisans favoured horn, bone, and ivory to carve and sculpt flowing lines and images.

Enamel was critical to bring designs to life and add colour – an important element of Art Nouveau jewellery design. Plique-à-jour enamelling created translucent interpretations of insect wings and plants and brought the creatures and flora to life. Champlevé enamel and Pâte de Verre added a 3D depth to jewellery.

The Artists

Jewellery from the Art Nouveau period is prized for its originality and workmanship over the intrinsic value of its materials. It is robust, solidly built with the wearer in mind. There were several great Art Nouveau jewellery artists, including Georges Fouquet, Henri Vever, Eugène Feuillâtre, Léopold Gautrait, and Lucien Gaillard.

René Lalique, however, was the most influential and well known of the Art Nouveau jewellery designers. Lalique was trained as a jeweller but created whimsies across many arts. His enamel work eventually led him to fall in love with glass, which became his life’s work. His trademark motif – which many copied – was the naked female figure.

The Art Nouveau movement fell within England’s Edwardian era. Edwardian jewellery featured similar light, playful, and delicate design but still championed the glitz of diamond, sapphire, and cool platinum to the warm and colourful French gold and enamel frenzy. Some of the big household names – Cartier and Boucheron, for example – successfully incorporated Art Nouveau jewellery techniques and Edwardian styles to create blended styles.

Short But Sweet

After the war, people became open to modern developments. Cleaner, straighter lines came into fashion across architecture, clothing, and art. The next generation rebelled against the now old “new” flowing lines of Art Nouveau by straightening them into the geometric angles of the Art Deco era.