Genuine Suffragette jewelry was created for the women’s movement first in England, then in the United States. It is one of the true Holy Grails of antique jewelry collecting. The problem is the amount of jewelry made at the beginning of the 20th century that has nothing to do with the women’s movement of the time. Nor is this jewelry passed off as Suffragette jewelry by unscrupulous or unscrupulous dealers who demand exorbitant prices based on its misidentified provenance.
It is believed that the Suffragette character’s clandestine jewelry used green, white, and purple gems to stand for a secretive feminist message. The first letters of each of these colors form the acronym “GWV,” which stands for “Give Women a Vote.” To understand how this acronym could have come about and how the jewelry of that time could be mistaken for Suffragette jewelry, it is necessary to be familiar with the political and popular trends of the time.
The Edwardian Period (1901-1910) coincided with the birth of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in England. This organization was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1903 and became the main spearhead of the women’s movement in England.
The Edwardian period celebrates the birth of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Denmark. His favorite color is his “leek-green” 1. Accordingly, Edwardian jewelry incorporated extensive peridots, emeralds, and demantoid (green) carbuncles, amethysts (purple), and diamonds. These beautiful gems were a tribute to the use of openwork platinum, the “lacey” setting that defined the jewelry of the era.
The original color movement of the WSPU in England by Mrs. Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, a prominent and devoted leader feminist were invented. movement He certainly took inspiration from King Edward and Queen Alexander’s favorite colors. However, the purpose was to publicly declare the movement women of color, so that all members could. to be proudly and publicly identified, so as not to create a clandestine code for voting sisters.
Emmeline Pethick-Laurence and her husband published the suffragist newspaper, Votes for Women. In the May 1908 issue of Votes For Women, he reportedly explained the symbolism behind the purple, white and green movement (WSPU). Purple stood for royal dignity, as it has for centuries. White stood for chastity. The green hope stood as a symbol of the regeneration of each spring: ‘Eternal hope’ 2.
These colors were originally intended at the time to join the secret acronym of the suffragette sisters, but they were to be used in public declarations later in the women’s movement. It is possible that as the suffragette movement progressed, the popular suffragettes embraced the Edwardian period ornamentation and developed the second and rather catchy “Da his cause.
I believe that the suffragettes of the period, both in England and in the United, could simply have adopted it. many Edwardian jewelry pieces cleverly call the color purple “blue” for its motif, and come up with the slogan “Give Women a Vote” (Green, White, Violet). However, this does not mean that Edwardian jewelry is synonymous with Suffragette jewelry or vice versa.
So be careful when buying a “Suffragette” kit. Evocation is simply desirable thinking! This is not to say that the suffragette jewelry itself was not made or documented – it was. Several jewelry items were created to commemorate various events of the women’s movement. Public badges, medals, helmets, “motorcycle belts and bands” 3 were commissioned by the WSPU. brass buckles, buckles, buckles, were official.
Sylvia Pankhurst, one of the daughters of Emmeline Pankhurst (the founder of the WSPU), created the famous “Holloway Prison Brooch”. The members were sent to prison because of their protest. Holloway Prison in London was a horrible place and much suffering and sacrifice took place there. The Holloway Prison Brooch recognized the members’ pain and commitment to the Women’s Movement.
In 1908, Sylvia Pankhurst also designed an enamel scale in the colors of the movement with an angel trumpet on the front. This is attached to the cover of Elizabeth Crawford’s book, The Woman Suffrage Movement, A Reference Guide 1866-1928. His book has the most detailed account of all the WSPU jewelry.
In short, not all of what is today called Suffragette jewelry was really part of the women’s movement. However, given the period, it is quite likely that many pieces of Edwardian jewelry were taken from the “Suffragette”.
Indeed, the symbolic acronym “Give Women the Suffrage” could easily be applied to the many trendy, multi-colored ornaments of the day, which had nothing to do with suffrage, but rather reverence for King Edward and Queen Alexandra. The kit is not a Suffragette document, but one should do some homework to get familiar with it.
Sources:
1. Tolkien Tracy and Wilkinson, Henrietta, A Collector’s Guide to Costume-jewelry, Key Styles and How Acknowledge, Ontario, Firefly Books Ltd., 1997.
2. Florey, Kenneth, Suffrage Colors and Suffrage Jewelry, Maine Antique Digest, December 2003.
3. Rowbotham, Sheila, A Century of Women, The History of Women in Britain and the United States , London, Viking, Published by the Penguin Group, 1997.
4. Crawford, Elizabeth, The Women’s Suffrage Movement, A Reference Guide 1866-1928, London, University College (UCL) Press, 1999.
