A gold, enamel and diamond skull stickpin,

by Trouvé and Cadet-Picard, circa 1870

Footnotes

Provenance
Ex Cameo Corner, Bloomsbury

This skull stickpin is a rare survivor from a group of electric novelty jewels invented by Gustave Trouvé and made by Auguste-Germain Cadet-Picard. Trouvé was a gifted scientist noted for his application of portable electricity and his skill in miniature automation. In 1865, aged 28, he patented his invention of a "wearable Lilliputian battery" that "does not wear out". The pocket-sized battery was used to power a series of stickpins with electric moving parts made in skilful collaboration with jeweller Cadet-Picard.

The designs included a soldier beating a drum, a monkey playing a violin, a rabbit playing with sticks on a little drum, an electro-spherical doorbell, Harlequin and Columbine dancing a ballet, a monkey in spectacles pulling faces, a hummingbird beating its wings, a fluttering butterfly and a skull, similar to the one offered here, which rolled its eyes and gnashed its teeth. Once the pin was firmly in the gentleman's cravat it was attached to a hermetically-sealed battery in his breast pocket via an invisible wire. In order to animate his cravat pin he stealthily turned the battery sideways in his pocket and surprised his audience.

The pins attracted admiration at the World Fair held in Paris in 1867 and were described by Henri Vever as "jewels of near-terrifying originality"; in 1879 they featured in a detailed article in French science magazine "La Nature". Due to the technical precision required when making them, the pins were produced in very limited numbers and by 1891 were already collectors' items.

An almost identical example is in the jewellery collection of the V&A London, museum number M.121-1984. Another was sold at Sotheby's London auction of "Jewels", 16 December 2003, lot 106. A skull smoking a cigar and wearing an emerald monocle was sold at Phillips London auction of "Fine Jewellery", 27 March 1990, lot 14. For further information see: Henri Vever, "French Jewellery of the 19th Century", (translation Katherine Purcell), London, 2001, pp779-780, Clare Phillips, "Jewels and Jewellery", V&A Publications, 2000, p91, Charlotte Gere and Judy Rudoe, "Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria", London, 2010, pp210-211, Kevin Desmond "Gustave Trouvé, French Electrical Genius (1939-1909)", London, 2015.