Art Nouveau Gold Medallion
An art nouveau gold medallion brings fluent, organic French goldsmithing to the neck or chain, combining miniature portraiture with translucent colour.
Art Nouveau Gold Medallion
When you search for an art nouveau gold medallion, you encounter French religious and figurative charms, pendants, and medals forged primarily around the turn of the twentieth century. These pieces translate lyrical floral motifs, sacred figures, and mythical subjects into wearable discs of warm metal.
You are most likely to meet French devotional pendants featuring the Virgin Mary, the Madonna and Child, or secular symbols like the hunting horn and the griffon chimera. These items typically span the decades from the eighteen-eighties through the nineteen-twenties, reflecting the distinct aesthetic shift toward flowing natural lines.
The form functions equally as a devotional object or an artistic jewel, often stamped with French hallmarks and designed to catch the light through translucent enamel windows. Each medallion carries a sculptural relief on the surface, depicting holy personages, angels, or sentimental phrases.
Materials and Technique
Goldsmiths shaped these pieces predominantly from eighteen-karat yellow gold, utilising the rich warmth of the alloy to frame intricate miniature reliefs. The metalwork relies heavily on delicate stamping and casting to achieve high-relief figures of saints, animals, and floral borders.
Plique-a-jour enamel forms the defining technical feature of many examples, creating stained-glass effects without a backing foil so that light passes straight through the colour. Artisans further enhanced these compositions by flush-setting seed pearls, diamonds, rubies, or peridots directly into the gold framework.
Art Nouveau Gold Medallion Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for art nouveau gold medallion among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Markers of Quality
The reputation of the medalist or designer significantly elevates the piece, with signed works by known French creators commanding stronger artistic interest. Furthermore, the integration of well-matched seed pearls or small gemstones marks out the more ambitious commissions from standard workshop output.
Emile Monier·Emile Dropsy·Rasumny·Sellier·Ovide Yencesse·GALLIA
The Art Nouveau Gold Medallion Glossary
- Plique-a-jour
- An enamelling technique where the enamel is applied without a backing metal, resulting in a transparent, stained-glass appearance that lets light pass through the coloured cells.
- Medal
- A flat, coin-like metal disc bearing a commemorative, religious, or decorative relief on one or both sides, often pierced with a suspension loop to be worn as a pendant.
- Seed Pearl
- A very small, naturally occurring pearl, often drilled and sewn or set in clusters to accent the borders of nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century jewellery.
- Charm
- A small decorative trinket suspended from a bracelet or necklace chain, moving independently and cast in high relief on both the front and reverse.
- Hallmark
- An official stamp or marks punched into precious metals to guarantee the fineness of the gold content and indicate the country or maker of origin.
Art Nouveau Gold Medallion: Frequently Asked Questions
What is plique-a-jour enamel?
Plique-a-jour is a vitreous enamelling process that resembles miniature stained glass, allowing light to shine directly through the suspended coloured glass panes.
Craftsmen built open wire frameworks of gold to hold the enamel without a solid backing plate, creating a luminous and delicate effect.
How do I wear a medallion pendant?
These medallions suspend from fine gold chains, worn either as a single focal pendant or layered with other antique charms and lockets.
The secure jump rings and suspension loops allow them to move freely against the fabric or skin.
Are these pieces French in origin?
The majority of these pieces originate from French workshops and Parisian studios operating during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
French hallmarks stamped on the gold often confirm this provenance and guarantee the eighteen-karat gold standard.
What subjects appear on these medallions?
Religious subjects dominate the selection, featuring the Virgin Mary, Madonna and Child, Jesus Christ, and various saints alongside inscriptions and prayers.
Secular designs also occur, depicting mythological creatures like griffons, hunting horns, and sentimental love hearts.