Brooch and pendant

Description

The London goldsmith, silver, and jewelry firm R. & S. Garrad & Company was a luxurious stop for Americans abroad. Parents of Winterthur Museum founder Henry F. du Pont shopped there their during a honeymoon tour in 1874. His mother, Pauline Foster du Pont, recorded this purchase in a letter to her sister Anna dated September 25, 1874: "I bought my present the other day from Uncle Giraud and it is beautiful-- pearls and brilliants set in silver, a bunch of oak leaves and acorns, very practical and handsome. It did not take all of my money so I will have enough left to buy a pearl necklace which I have always wanted... Henry is going to have my earrings reset like the pendant so I will have a beautiful set." Pauline's granddaughter, also named Pauline, later gifted this pendant to Winterthur. The pendant, pearl drop earrings, and a single strand pearl necklace are depicted in the portrait of Mrs. Henry A. du Pont (Pauline) who died in 1902, painted post-humous by Ellen Emmet Rand [1969.5406].