Item HT 62028 Brooch - Wildflower Posy Design, Porcelain, Mamie Venner, South Australia, circa 1920

Summary

Oval painted porcelain brooch with a design featuring a posy of wildflowers. The brooch was made by South Australian artist Mamie Venner, circa 1920.

The simple gold claw mount was created by an unknown artist.

In the early part of the twentieth century, china painters and studio potters, usually women, earned pin money by painting small oval or round blank porcelain plaques. The blank plaques usually came from Germany, and in most cases, were painted with images of Australian flora and fauna, mainly to supply the tourist market. Once painted, the plaque was glazed and taken to a jeweller for mounting as a brooch in silver or more often, gold. The simple style of mount is indicative of the early 1900s and also reflects the low cost of mounting.

Physical Description

Porcelain round brooch delicately painted with a design of wildflowers in a variety of pastel colours including pinks, white blues and yellows. There are two pink flowers at the top, both the same shade of pink, whilst beneath that are what appear to be two white roses. Around the four main central white and pink flowers are splashes of blue flowers with green stems and leaves. Gold mount with four claws.