Blackamoor brooch G.Nardi

A diamond, turqoise and hardstone blackamoor by Nardi.
Carved hardstone face, with cabochon turquoise and brilliant-cut diamond set turban and tunic and diamond set earrings.
Signed G.Nardi

Nardi: Venetian jeweller famous for his blackamoor or Moretti brooches. Carved from ebony or sardonyx, these brooches depict the head and shoulders of a turbaned Moorish male. The intended reference is often to Othello, the Moor of Venice, or to the valiant, warlike Hannibal. They are typically gem encrusted and constructed with precious metals. The brooches were originally Venetian souvenirs. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, they became wildly popular. Nardi's founder Giulio Nardi, who first began producing blackamoors in the early twenties, is known as a master craftsman of them. Though the firm carried, and still carries, more than just blackamoors, its fame is largely a result of its founder's ebony creations.