Important Multi Chain Turquoise Garland Necklace with Rare 19 th. C. English Enamel Horse

In 19th-century England, enamel on sterling silver became a refined yet intimate way to celebrate the horse—an animal central to the nation’s labor, leisure, and identity. From agriculture and transport to warfare, hunting, and racing, horses embodied strength, discipline, and grace, making them powerful artistic symbols. Silversmiths fused powdered glass to silver through fire, creating richly colored enamel scenes that captured horses in motion or repose with careful anatomical realism. Influenced by the era’s fascination with natural study and equestrian art, these small-scale works translated grand cultural ideals into objects meant to be held close.

Jill Garber designed this magnificent, one-of-a-kind necklace to showcase a rare antique 19th-century English enamel on silver, depicting a luminous white horse. Elegantly flowing multi-chain garlands embrace a spectacular high-dome Kingman turquoise, notable for its rich coppery-gold matrix. The stone is meticulously framed in substantial sterling silver beading with an inner floral motif. Surrounding the antique horse enamel are fourteen Kingman turquoise cabochons, each separated by delicate silver bead details, creating a harmonious balance of historic imagery and bold, contemporary design.

DETAILS : 

• Antique 19 th. Century English Enamel on Sterling Silver Measuring 1 3/4" including turquoise surround

• 2" x 1 1/2" Natural American Mined Kingman Turquoise Cabochon

• Two Turquoise Cabochon Multi Chain Connecting links measuring 2/3" x 1/2"

• Five substantial English elongated oval Rolo chain equal sided garland structure with top chain measuring 16"

• One inch sterling silver Tube Clasp

• A one of a kind Necklace Design exclusively from Jill Garber

• Signed with hallmark JG logo for Jill Garber and hand crafted in the USA

• Antique English Enamel Works : Appearing on snuff boxes, lockets, brooches, and sporting trophies, enamelled silver horse pieces were often commemorative, marking races won, service rendered, or prized animals owned. They balanced ornament with meaning, combining the permanence of silver with the narrative color of enamel. In these works, craft and culture converged: the horse stood as a quiet emblem of Victorian England itself, poised between tradition and progress, utility and elegance, memory and display.