silver neo gothic cuff bangle

An important silver and vermeil neo gothic cuff bracelet, delicately engraved and repierced with floral patterns, grapes, and the name Jehanne for Joan of Arc, signed on the edge: Couquaux, 1885. Couquaux’ work is characteristic of the esthetical influences of the end of the 19th century, with mentors such as Eugène Viollet-le-Duc or Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus. Couquaux was well known for the high quality of his work, especially during the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878, where he was awarded a silver medal.

Joan of Arc, a girl living in medieval France, believed that God had chosen her to lead France to victory in its long-running war with England. With no military training, Joan convinced the embattled crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where it achieved a short victory over the English and their French allies, the Burgundians. After seeing the prince crowned King Charles VII, Joan was captured by Anglo-Burgundian forces, tried for witchcraft and burned at the stake in 1431, at the age of 19. By the time she was officially canonized in 1920, the Maid of Orléans had long been considered one of history’s greatest saints, and an enduring symbol of French unity and nationalism.

weight: 112 grams