Vijf oorbellen, waarvan de laatste met slang c. 1800 - 1810

Here, Carl Friedrich Bärthel presents us with a vision of five earrings, meticulously rendered on paper with delicate touches of gold and sparkling embellishments. These are designs intended for production, and we can assume that each earring would have been a handcrafted object, made through the labor-intensive processes of goldsmithing and gem-setting. Every tiny facet on these jewels would have been painstakingly shaped and polished by hand, demanding precision and expertise. The designs’ elegant forms and glittering surfaces would be an aesthetic expression of wealth, status and power, reflecting the social stratification of the time. Consider how these earrings represent a convergence of craft traditions and the burgeoning world of commerce. They remind us of the many hands involved in the production and consumption of luxury goods, revealing the complex relationship between labor, artistry, and social aspiration. By attending to these details, we can gain a more nuanced understanding of the rich cultural and economic contexts of the art.