Goldfield brooches: Uniquely Australian

A selection of an intriguing group of brooches are on display in the Australian Art Collection, Queensland Art Gallery — made by unknown jewellers, they were produced in the Australian goldfields, circa 1880–1915 and are a peculiarly Australian innovation. These elegant pieces in uniquely Australian designs which are made from gold, small nuggets of native gold,…

Family jewels tell two Queensland stories

The Gallery recently acquired a fine piece of late-nineteenth-century, Queensland-made jewellery — the D Mackay and Co. Gold and topaz bangle c.1900 (illustrated). Its making and provenance builds on an earlier Queensland piece already in the Collection — the Hogarth, Erichsen & Co. Archer mourning brooch c.1860 (illustrated). Together, these beautiful objects tell the historic…