Antique Czech Victorian hand crafted oval jet black glass mourning pin brooch

Antique Vintage Czech Bohemian Victorian mourning jewelry jet black glass pin brooch. With wonderful individual black glass elements soldered onto a metal frame. This style of jewelry originated in the 1860's but had a resurgent period in 1901 after the death of Queen Victoria and had all but finished by 1903. The principal maker of this style of jewelry was Gebruder Feix of Albrechtice in the Jizera mountains.
This is of museum quality and similar brooches made by Gebruder Feix can be found in the museum of glass and jewelry in Jablonec nad Nisou where there is a black costume jewelry exhibition. From a private collection.
Origin: Northern Bohemia circa 1900's
Size: 37mm; 1.45" approx 

The idea of imitating precious jet started in the 19th century. Production of glass "jet" began in the Jablonec area in the 1860's. Originally, the pressed glass was bonded with resin on to a solid metal base. After 1877, Gebruder Feix patented the riveting of glass stones onto metal bases. However, the real revolution came in the 1880's when production began by tin-soldering glass stones with sealed metal tubes on to a wire base. The boom in black costume jewelry making in Czech continued until the turn of the century and by the 1920's had virtually gone out of fashion.