A 19th CENTURY SCOTTISH CELTIC CROSS PEARL-SET BROOCH
UNMARKED, POSSIBLY KILDONAN GOLD
Auction: Day 2: Thursday 21 August - Lots 297 - end
Description
formed as a Celtic Cross, collet-set with five pearls, in an annular border, to an unmarked yellow metal bar brooch
Dimensions
4.9cm wide
Footnote
While native gold has been mined and sourced for centuries in Scotland, it was more commonly found as a by-product of other mining activities, notably lead. The exception being the few rare occasions of miniature gold rushes in Scotland, such as Kildonan in 1818 and again in 1868.
During the 1860s the Duke of Sutherland allowed prospectors to pan for gold on his estate. A local man, Robert Nelson Gilchrist, had recently returned from Australia where he had gained mining experience and was able to use his knowledge on the Sutherland estate in Scotland.
Although this piece is unmarked, it bears a striking resemblance to other examples of jewellery marked for Kildonan. For a comparable example, showing the Celtic cross set with pearls, see further reading by John Hawkins, Robert Nelson Gilchrist (1821-1877) A Returned Australian Digger Who Found Gold At Kildonan https://www.jbhawkinsantiques.com/