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This vintage luckenbooth pendant is formed of two interlocking hearts, surmounted by a crown. The reverse is stamped ‘SCOTLAND’ and shows hallmarks for Edinburgh, sterling silver, the maker John Hart and 1968.
The modern chain is a 1.7mm belcher chain, 18” / 45cm in length.
John Hart trained as an engraver before joining the Glasgow silversmithing firm Celtic Art Industries. By the early 1950s he had established himself as an independent silversmith and sold much of his work to The Iona Shop which had branches in Glasgow and Oban. In 1979 he retired and his son (also called John) merged his own fledgling workshop with his father’s at Iochdar in South Uist.
Scottish heart brooches are often referred to as luckenbooths, with the name coming from the locked booths that housed the goldsmithing quarter in Edinburgh next to St Giles Kirk. The hearts are often capped with crowns, such as this example, and many were known to have acted as betrothal and wedding gifts particularly during the eighteenth century. They were also occasionally called witches brooches as they were believed to offer protection against witchcraft.
Dimensions:
Pendant
Height inc. bail 4.8cm
Width 3cm
Weight 7.4g
Chain
Length 18” / 45cm