Georgian Black-Dot Paste Cruciform Pendant

Bright and fiery black-dot paste gemstones are the distinct focal point of this remarkable Georgian pendant. It's formed as a cross, more specifically a cross crosslet, with extra cross-bars at the end of each of the four arms. The stones are set over foil and cute little dish backs, and it dates from the latter half of the eighteenth century, circa 1770. Crafted in 15 carat gold. Black-dot paste is a refinement of Georgian paste, the high-lead glass used as a diamond (and later coloured gemstone) substitute. Georges-Frédéric Strass (1701–77) dominated the trade in artificial stones at the French court, first using Rhine rock crystal and then leaded glass, and he raised the lead content further, giving a harder glass that could take a high polish. The lead also made the glass soft enough to cut by hand and more refractive, so it sparkled by candlelight. Because paste lacked a diamond’s natural fire, jewellers set it in closed-back silver collets over foil. Some stones also had a black dot painted on the culet to suggest depth. The dot copied what a diamond of the day looked like from the front. Before the modern brilliant cut, the pointed base of a diamond was cut off, leaving a flat “open culet” that shows as a small dark spot through the table, and the painted dot reproduced that tell-tale mark on glass. When you look at a piece, you see domed, hand-cut, foil-backed stones, often old mine or pear cut, typically in silver “pie-crust” settings that sit somewhere between claw and rub-over, each with a tiny dark point at its centre. Dealers tend to date surviving examples from about 1750 to 1830. Painting the dot took time, so it is often taken as a sign of a better grade of paste. Era: Georgian, circa 1770 Stones: Paste Gemstones Size: 3.0cm by 2.8cm Marks: None, tested as 15ct gold Condition: Great antique condition; light wear consistent with age. The pastes and the foil have survived beautifully.