Jewelry

TUDOR PLACE | Last day open of 2024: Sunday, December 29. Click for info

TUDOR PLACE | Last day open of 2024: Sunday, December 29.

With 315 pins, brooches, necklaces, lockets, earrings, rings, cufflinks and accessories, the Jewelry Collection represents all six generations of the resident Peter family and traces changes in style and materials over two centuries. In its earliest pieces, gold and silver mounts are set with pearls, diamonds and imitative glass (“paste”) stones. As tastes turned to more vibrantly hued stones, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and amethysts began to appear. Victorian and Edwardian jewelry worn by the women of Tudor Place includes examples studded with mine-cut and rose-cut diamonds set in platinum and enamel.

Hairwork jewelry was a popular early American accessory, braided into delicate bracelets or rings or cut and pasted to create miniature scenes on brooches to celebrate engagements or mourn the loss of loved ones. Among the collection’s highlights are several such pieces, including a rose gold mourning ring occasioned by the 1806 death of Robert Peter, and a rare ca. 1825-50 bracelet woven from the hair of his daughter-in-law, Martha Peter, with a locket containing locks from her two sisters.

The collection has eight pocket watches, including George Peter’s pocket watch, retailed by jewelers H.G. and J.E. Wagner in Georgetown in the late 18th century. A second significant piece is a 1741 watch made by English clockmaker William Webster Jr., which was a gift from George Washington to his stepdaughter-in-law Eleanor Calvert in 1774.

A ca. 1870-80 wrought-silver necklace, convertible into two bracelets, designed by Tiffany & Company evokes the Japonisme craze of that era.

A collection of Art Deco jewelry also includes Asian-inspired elements, such as a carved jade and diamond brooch made in the 1920s by the Parisian firm of J. Chaumet.

Brooch Portuguese, 18th c. Paste, faux pearl, gold, silver 7715

Ladies “Tank” Wristwatch Cartier, 1921 Platinum, Glass, Onyx, Diamond, Silver, Satin 7796

Mourning Ring Unknown maker, ca. 1806 Gold, enamel, human hair 7063.01

Suite of Jewelry: Armlets, brooch, and earrings Tiffany & Company, NY, ca. 1871 Tortoiseshell 7546

Necklace Unknown maker after a design by Cartier, ca. 1910 Diamond, Platinum, White Gold 7704.01-.02

Unknown maker, ca. Diamonds and yellow gold 7470.01ab

Anna W. Peter’s Jewelry Photograph, ca. 1900 Tudor Place Archive

Ring Black, Starr & Frost, NY, 1900 Ruby, diamond, platinum 7724

Pocket Watch D. Edmonds, Liverpool, England, late 18th century Gold, Glass, Steel 7794.01a-c

Bracelets George W. Shiebler & Company, 1880-1890 Retailed by Tiffany & Company, NY. Silver 7540.01

Mourning brooch Unknown maker, American, ca. 1800 Gold, ivory, glass or crystal, pearl, human hair 7067

Designed by Armistead Peter 3rd for his wife, 1945 Jade with gold mount 7685

In The News

Press Release: Tudor Place Wins MAAM’s, Making an Impact Award

October 15, 2024/by Comms2018

Up in Arms: A Family’s Service

August 29, 2024/by Janet Wall

Mark Hudson, Executive Director, Featured in Podcast introducing, Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place

January 17, 2024/by Comms2018

SLAVERY AT TUDOR PLACE

As an historic site that bears the scars of slavery, Tudor Place seeks to look this injustice in the eye. Click here to learn more.

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1644 31st Street, NW | Washington, DC 20007
202-965-0400 | info@tudorplace.org