An important ducal gold and enamel collar necklace, England, 1860s, commissioned by John Winston

An important ducal gold and enamel collar necklace, England, 1860s, commissioned by John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, designed in the Renaissance Revival style, the elaborate scrolling gold collar set with eight lockets, seven of which are decorated with the initials of their children in enamel with forget-me-nots in a floral wreath surround, the other with a Ducal coronet set with rubies and diamonds, the reverse with oval glazed locket compartments engraved with the full name of each child and their date of birth, length 41cm, lockets 2.2 x 2.9cmThis extraordinary necklace is a superb example of the historicism of the Victorian age, and the influence that medieval and Renaissance art and architecture had on both decorative art in the middle of the 19th century, and the imaginations of some of its most prominent patrons. The exhibitions of Renaissance gold work and enamelling in 1861 at the Louvre and in 1865 at the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs also caught the imagination of jewellers in France, inspiring a renewed interest in the multicoloured ronde bosse and basse taille enamelling techniques that gave these historic jewels their distinctive aesthetic. The brightly enamelled ciphers on each locket take their inspiration from these early jewels. As popular personalisations on lockets, pocket watches and other accessories, jewellers of the mid-19th century became proficient in producing ciphers and monograms in a wide variety of fonts, occasionally in combination with sentimental motifs such as forget-me-nots, as seen here. The scrolling gold links connecting these enamelled lockets are likely also inspired by antique prints and re-publications of Renaissance pattern books, which were collected and reproduced by jewellers in France such as Wièse and Froment-Meurice and their English contemporaries such as CF Hancock and John Brogden - both of whom are possible candidates as the makers of this jewel. While other examples of these dynastic sentimental jewels are known, commemorating an entire layer of the family tree at once, the Spencer-Churchill jewel is a particularly ambitious design. However, for all the details known about this prominent family, the necklace also leaves a mystery. Eight of the eleven children of the 7th Duke and Duchess survived into adulthood, yet only seven are mentioned in the necklace. The missing daughter is Lady Georgiana Elizabeth Spencer-Churchill (1860-1906), who was not the youngest of the siblings mentioned in the necklace, eliminating the possibility that she was not yet born when the necklace was designed. One locket, bearing the ducal coronet with its enamelled strawberry leaves, could be a later replacement or a later adaptation, but appears entirely original. Moreover, due to the design of the necklace, it would be unlikely to sit comfortably with an extra locket added. While it was originally thought that the necklace was made for the Duchess by her husband the 7th Duke as a mark of affection for their children, the missing name could potentially be explained by rethinking the jewel’s function and intended wearer. It could be the case that it was in fact made for Lady Georgiana, marking her bond with her siblings, and the proud ducal heritage of her family. An occasion for such a gift from her family might have been her wedding day in 1883, when she married Richard George Penn-Curzon, 4th Earl Howe, leaving the family home and supporting her husband over his ascendant political career in London. Whatever the circumstances of its design, an incredible amount of history is condensed in this beautiful sentimental jewel. The line of the Dukes of Marlborough and the history of their seat at Blenheim Palace can ultimately be traced back to General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (1650-1722). Queen Anne gifted the land at Woodstock, Oxfordshire, to the Duke in recognition