Egret fromcap of Prince Francis I (1577 - 1620)

The clasp was composed of light Schweifwerk forms forming a dense weave and stylised floral motifs, decorated with many subtle enamel shades. The central diamond was placed in a high tray with ornately designed walls, finished with a blue enamel lambrequin. Together with the surrounding petals, the three other diamond settings create the form of florets elevated above the openwork rosette frame. The edges of the volutes are covered with tiny enamel-covered spherical protuberances, and some of the enamelled planes are covered with precise gold patterns made in the groove enamel technique. Such a complex, multifaceted and dynamic composition, characterised by expression and virtuosity of forms, is characteristic of Mannerist jewels from the turn of the 16th/17th century. The clasp is the most prominent jewel from among thirteen rosettes decorating the hubcap of Duke Franciszek I of Pomerania. Apart from it, the set included smaller jewels of two types: a small diamond surrounded by four pearls and a single diamond in a large lobe. Rosettes were connected by earrings and hooks into a chain and fastened on the brim of the hat or cap. The clasp was placed in the middle, directly under the aigrette. A string of jewels identical to the preserved one can be seen both on the posthumous portrait of the Duke from 1621 and on the representative portrait from 1616 by Johann Leonisch, a painter from Szczecin, known from archive photographs.

Monika Frankowska-Makała