The Triumph of Love: Jewelry 1530-1930

Throughout the centuries, a young man courting a young woman, a monarch celebrating his or her dynastic marriage, a longwedded woman wishing to affirm her abiding love for her husband, people both famous and unknown, have chosen jewels of all sorts to mark the sentiment and occasion. This is a tradition which continues to be practised today. Geoffrey Munn is widely recognized as a leading expert on the history of these adornments, all of them expressing the strong emotions of the donor. Here are splendid rings, brooches and necklaces, exquisitely worked by master craftsmen with hearts and arrows, intertwined initials, vines, flowers and other symbolic motifs, all showing the special language known to lovers. Most of these radiant jewels also hide a fascinating story, and the author tells all that is known about their origins: the giver and the receiver, the designer, and the meaning of each piece. Geoffrey C. Munn is the author of numerous books and articles on jewellery and has organized several exhibitions on specific jewellers. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.