PREVIEW: JEWELLERY: 26 MARCH

As Noonans celebrate the outstanding success of the latest instalment of the unique collection of Naval Medals of the late Jason Pilalas, the Spring Jewellery auction on 26 March presents its own treasure from one of the most distinguished naval officers to feature in that sale.

The piece in question is the late 19th century diamond and demantoid garnet crescent and serpent brooch shown here. Given by Captain Henry Peel Ritchie VC to his wife Christiana, it was purchased from S. Lanyon Jewellers, 4 Ordnance Row, the Hard, Portsmouth.

Ritchie’s naval career started at aged 14, and he quickly rose through the navy due to his keen intelligence and impressive strength. At aged 20 he was promoted to lieutenant and served the next 15 years as a junior staff officer at Sheerness Gunnery School. Whilst stationed at Sheerness, Ritchie met Christiana ‘Chrissie’ Jardine, only daughter of a wine merchant. The couple married in Edinburgh on 31 March 1902.

HMS Goliath, the pre-dreadnought battleship, was transferred to the Portsmouth Division of the New Home fleet on 15 March 1907. Based at Portsmouth, she underwent a machinery overhaul there from August 1907 to February 1908. Upon completion of her refit, HMS Goliath was commissioned on 4 February 1908 for Mediterranean Fleet service.

Whilst stationed on shore, Ritchie may well have purchased this brooch for his wife in Portsmouth, the brooch being retailed by the well-known Portsmouth naval jewellers, S. Lanyon.

Ritchie’s shore service ended in March 1911, when he was posted as senior Lieutenant on HMS Goliath. Promoted to Commander later that year, he managed the ship’s gunnery exercises and procedures whilst Goliath was part of the Channel Fleet stationed in British waters.

Commander Ritchie’s war service was to prove exceptional. He was awarded the first Royal Navy Senior Services Victoria Cross of the Great War for his gallant command of H.M.S. Goliath’s steam pinnace at Dar-es-Salaam, the capital of Germany’s East African empire (now part of Tanzania) on 28 November 1914. 


The Citation in the London Gazette, 10 April 1915 read:
“Commander Henry Peel Ritchie, Royal Navy, for the conspicuous act of bravery specified below:
For most conspicuous bravery on the 28th November 1914 when in command of the searching and demolition operations at Dar es Salaam East Africa Though severely wounded several times his fortitude and resolution enabled him to continue to do his duty inspiring all by his example until at his eighth wound he became unconscious. The interval between his first and last severe wound was between twenty and twenty five minutes.”

Commander Ritchie was presented his Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace in April 1915. Ritchie retired in 1917, deemed unfit for further service as a legacy of the wounds he had received, returning to his home city of Edinburgh. He was promoted Captain on the Retired List in January 1924. He lived at Craig Royston House in Edinburgh until his death on 9 December 1958, aged 83.

“This brooch is a touching reminder of the personal life of a hero, whose gallantry proved so outstanding more than a century ago. The brooch dates from the late 19th century, incorporating the popular motifs of the serpent and crescent moon. The serpent, although a universal theme in jewellery throughout history, was revived particularly in the later Victorian era to symbolise eternal love and commitment. Set with demantoid garnets, a much sought after rare green garnet, this brooch is a fine piece of craftsmanship,” said Noonans’ Head of Jewellery Frances Noble.

The 6cm long crescent is set throughout with old brilliant-cut diamonds, and the applied serpent set with circular-cut demantoid garnets and an old brilliant-cut diamond eye, the tongue modelled as blister pearl. The whole is mounted in silver and gold, and comes in a fitted cased by S. Lanyon, Portsmouth, with a total diamond weight approximately 1.85 carats. The estimate is £3,000-4,000.