![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Its pieces continue to draw acclaim for their diversity, their enormous chronological range, and their relatively pristine condition. Most of the collection now resides permanently at the Museum of London. Yet the Cheapside Hoard was buried, undisturbed, for almost 300 years, preserving a huge spectrum of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century jewelry styles and materials for posterity. Museum of London senior curator Hazel Forsyth explains that jewelry tends to be broken up and refashioned over the years. The stones were not documented, but it is quite possible they are the two amethysts pictured in figure 4. Lawrence’s own son presented two fancy-cut amethysts to museum officials in 1927. Over the past century, items purportedly from the hoard have continued to trickle in. This treasure of mostly Elizabethan and Jacobean jewelry eventually constituted almost 500 pieces. Over the ensuing weeks, parcels and handkerchiefs of jewelry from the hoard showed up at his office, and an astonishing collection began to accumulate. The discovery on June 18, 1912, at the intersection of Cheapside and Friday streets (figure 3) was to become Lawrence’s most significant procurement. In his first six months of employment with the museum, he sourced a total of 1,600 pieces (Macdonald, 1996). In the acquisition of archaeological finds, his accomplishments were remarkable-during his career he reportedly obtained 15,000 artifacts (Gosling, 1995), some of which were traded with museums around the world. Lawrence’s success in antiquities, and his connections with the crews, paid off in 1912 when he became the inspector of excavations for the newly established London Museum. “Stony Jack” Lawrence was appointed inspector of excavations at the London Museum in 1912, the year the treasure was found. Applied Jewelry Professional ™ Online Diplomaįigure 2. ![]()
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