We recently visited The Museum of London to see the Cheapside Hoard exhibit, which is on display until the end of April. We both work in or near the City, so we went on one of the exhibition's late opening nights. The exhibit is still putting on a couple of late weeknight openings before it closes.
The Cheapside Hoard is several pieces of jewellery from the early to mid-1600s that was discovered in the early 1900s by workers who were tearing down foundations of buildings on Cheapside. The hoard of jewellery was thought to have been placed in a cellar beneath a jeweller's shop (Cheapside was full of them) in the mid-1600s and escaped being destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666. New buildings were built on top of the ashes in 1667, and the hoard was forgotten about. No one knows where it came from or who it belonged to or why it was hidden. There are many speculations about those questions.
Emerald box clock and salamander
The importance of the hoard is that is represents a slice of London's history and the role of fashion, trade, and social status. The exhibit showed several portraits of individuals wearing similar items. It also explained where the gemstones came from, and this represented London as an important world city with trade links to India, Sri Lanka, south America, Asia, and Europe. It also represented the workmanship of the jewellers with influences in other European countries and explained how the different markets (other European countries) preferred particular styles or how these styles and specific designs became popular in England.
Gems in Cheapside Hoard
Some of the most notable pieces include a large piece of emerald carved into a small box and hollowed out to include a Swiss watch, a salamander-pendant made with emeralds and diamonds, a jewelled perfume bottle, a parrot carved from emerald, a cameo of Elizabeth I, a selection of necklaces in gold and enamel with gemstones, and a pin sculpted to look like a ship.
The exhibition is the first time that the entire hoard has been put together for display since it was discovered.
http://www.museumoflondonimages.com/viewCollection.php?collectionId=319
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