The peacock symbolized nobleness, status and wealth in art history. Moreover, it was a symbolic icon of protection and guidance, and it served as a sign of dignity and confidence in ancient cultures.

During the previous two centuries and throughout the historical-artistic presence of the peacock, the stylish creature has been used frequently in numerous applied arts. This crested pheasant has also appeared in René Lalique artwork extensively.

Calouste Gulbenkian acquired the peacock corsage ornament from René Lalique. It is one of the most spectacular pieces of jewellery ever created in the period of Art Nouveau. Gulbenkian was a Western businessman of Armenian origin, and as a successful, wealthy expert, he constantly appreciated Lalique’s work and commissioned many of the artist’s projects.

The cabochon stone, shaped by oval opals, attached evenly to the semi-circular jewel and created a relaxed symmetric look by placing an enormous peacock in the centre.

The Khalili Museum is well-known for its Islamic Art Collection includes a few of Rene Lalique’s pieces. Lalique, the French industrial designer (1860 – 1945), utilized superior techniques with ingenious creativity. He refused the dominant use of diamonds in jewellery and terminated the hegemony of precious stones in ornamental artwork. Generally, he banned the recreated reused historical styles, the so-called Historicism, in his designs.

Although this corsage ornament made in 1905 has a symmetrical structure and opposing ends, it features a curved design and undulated delicate texture inspired by nature, similar to other Art Nouveau jewels.

The piece outlines the shape of an insect with two delicate, slender forewings formed by matt semi-opaque enamel.

The double central ellipses made by shiny green peridot stone shows the thorax and the abdomen as the biological organs of the insect. The two ruby eye compounds with the clay-coloured head balance the open wings on both sides. The forewings in champlevé compartments include golden branching routes and are filled with rose-gold low saturated coloured enamel.

The dragonfly brooch is a delicate, designed piece of René Lalique’s jewellery and one of the most famous ornaments of the Art Nouveau era.

This decorative jewel, dated from 1903, was acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian from René Lalique. Gulbenkian was a British- Armenian businessman, a great art collector and a significant supporter of René Lalique’s artwork, who commissioned many of his projects, including this dragonfly brooch.

The ancient brooches are chronological indicators. Generally, the art experts estimate the production date of the pins as this jewellery category adorned the opulent dresses of many historical characters in the past centuries.

It is not difficult to detect the type of design. We can undoubtedly recognize its style, which promptly refers to the Art Nouveau period with its flowing curved shape and the female silhouette.

In the mid-to-late 19th century and the Victorian style, the brooches had long pins, enriched by expensive gold spines, decorated with valuable stones like diamonds and pearls and used as clothes fasteners by dresses. The extended length of the pin kept the thicker textile pieces together and secured them in place. However, in the later years by Art Nouveau style, the jewellers attached the non-precious stones to the brooches and produced them as clasp fastenings for dresses and other clothing like jackets, sweaters and even hats.

Tiffany & Co., the American luxury products firm, produced circa 1900 the Iris Corsage Ornament, an exquisite spectacular gem of the Art Nouveau period.

This splendid ornamental jewel is kept in the Walters Art Museum of Baltimore, United States and made of blue sapphire extracted from the Montana rocks. Montana got an unofficial nickname as “The Treasure State”, due to its mineral resources, mainly because of the precious stone of sapphire that had become increasingly popular among Europeans.

Like many other Art Nouveau ornaments, the corsage is inspired by the curved whiplash lines of nature and, in this case, primarily by the floral fan shape of the iris flower. The symmetrical six lobed corolla segments as three upright petals curved at the top and three lower petals hanging down are made from facetted blue sapphires.

The jewel has a long and slender stem in gold and three delicate leaves made of green demantoid garnet. The shiny yellow signals and the white petal veins of the iris are part of the glistening design. Other gemstones such as diamonds, topaz, gold alloys, and platinum increase the brightness of this charming object.

I shall mention a few of Art Nouveau’s jewellery artists in this topic, such as Alphonse Fouquet and René Lalique, and Georg Jensen.

Alphonse Fouquet, a prominent 19th-century Parisian jeweller, was famous because of his extensive use of enamel and coloured stone. He had disapproved the works of his contemporaries work in the same industry but had said about Lalique: “Till now, I didn’t know any jewellery designers, but now, here we have one!”

The famous French Industrial designer of the Art Nouveau’s period, René Lalique, had extensive skills and expertise in glass art, jewellery and the watch industry. He also produced decorative art products such as crystal vases, chandeliers and decorative hoods. During his youth, he put a lot of effort to acquire the knowledge required for the delicate techniques of applied art.

Lalique had apprenticed to Louis Aucoc, the Parisian Art Nouveau jeweller and goldsmith, and continued his work as a freelance artist with the famous Jewel factory, Cartier. Lalique cooperated later with the Maison de l’Art Nouveau; an art gallery opened in Paris by the Franco-German art dealer Siegfried Bing. A British-Armenian businessman Calouste Gulbenkian gathered an extensive art collection and commissioned many of René Lalique’s work due to his fortune.