An antique gold Cowslip brooch.

delicately modelled in two coloured gold, as a flowering cowslip,
the stalks in sabled yellow gold, the flowers in sabled red gold.

French, circa 1880.

5.5 cm in length.

Cowslips are wildflowers and members of the Primrose family; they are also known as Fairy cups,
Mayflower and Key Flower. The last name stems from the legend of St Peter dropping
the keys to Heaven and where they landed Cowslips growing, the flowers
are thought to resemble a set of keys.

Exhibited:

Wartski, French Jewellery of the Nineteenth Century,
London 2001, number 233.