My Favorite Motifs: BOWS

I love jewelry featuring bows. I am not alone. I’d guess that virtually all major jewelry designers have created at least one, and probably many pieces featuring bows, either as the main motif or as a secondary design element.

Bow Background

ciner bow earring — Ciner Bow Earrings – http://www.sophiescloset.com

In her delightful book, “Jewelry – From Antiquity to the Present,” Clare Phillips notes “The bow was one of the most popular motifs in Baroque jewelry, probably developing out of the ribbons which were tied at the top of a jewel as a means of securing it.”

It certainly sounds plausible that a clever goldsmith of the 17th century could look at the black velvet ribbon holding a pearl drop against a lady’s decolletage and be inspired to construct a bow-shaped jewel from metal and gemstones.

But bows were already popular as trims for dresses, as the two pictures below demonstrate.

hortense mancini 2 — Hortense Mancini by Gennari II

portrait de femme by B Van Der Helst — Portrait of Femme by van der Helst

Wouldn’t any of these fabric bow trims look fetching if constructed out of gold and gemstones?

But anyway, who cares how the motif came about? Bows have a long and venerable history and the motif is still popular today.

Bow Designs: Inspired or Tired?

Because bow-motif jewelry has been around for centuries, every design permutation has likely been done a million times. Romantic droopy bows with pearl drops? Yup. Droopy bows called “sevignes” were the rage in the 17th century and are still gorgeous in the 21st — see the adorable Ciner earrings shown above. Tailored bows in vermeil? See the 1940s. Perky golden bows? See the 1960s. Bakelite bows? Double bows? Bow ties? Circle pins with bows? Kittens with bows? Floral sprays with bows? It’s all been done.

Certainly some bow jewelry seems lifeless, insipid, unimaginative and even ugly. But isn’t it amazing that, after being a fixture of jewelry design for 400 years, so many pieces are graceful, charming, inspired and just absolutely gorgeous?

Here are some examples of vintage costume jewelry bows. Some of these I think are adorable. Others I think are kind of drab. There is even one that falls into the “What were they thinking?” category. How would you rate them? Inspired? Or Tired?