Vintage Petit Point Floral Brooch

Vintage Petit Point Floral Brooch

An oval brooch holding a finely embroidered pink rose and small flowers at its centre. With its "AUSTRIA" mark, original case, and Made in Austria sticker still intact, it survives in rare condition — a true Austrian petit point piece.

What makes this brooch particular is that the embroidery at its centre is petit point — a tradition of extremely fine needlework that may carry several hundred to over a thousand stitches per square inch. Petit point developed in 19th-century Vienna alongside its imperial court culture. Each stitch is worked in silk thread as fine as a human hair, and only when you look closely does the depth of the work become clear: the shading on the rose petals, the subtle gradient of green in the leaves, the soft colour shift in the small blue flowers — every detail rendered by hand-embroidery alone. A small painting drawn in cloth, holding both the delicacy of a brushwork and the soft quality only fabric can carry.

The gold frame surrounding the embroidery is filigree — openwork in waves and small bead motifs, alternating in decorative rhythm. The contrast between the fine needlework at the centre and the more ornate frame around it gives the brooch the air of antique jewellery in the classical sense. The gold plating on the frame has held its colour beautifully through time.

Vienna is recognised as the global heart of petit point embroidery. Cultivated under the Habsburg court, the technique was deeply admired among European women of the upper class through the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, only a handful of workshops still produce true Austrian petit point — and pieces like this one, surviving with both its original case and country-of-origin sticker, hold real value for collectors.

The reverse is fitted with a secure pin clasp. Worn on a knit, a blouse, a shirt's chest, a jacket lapel, or near the breast pocket of a coat, it places what reads almost like a small painting at the centre of the outfit. Paired with simple grey or white tops, the colours of the embroidery come quietly forward, lending the whole a classical refinement. A piece for days when you want to ease the shoulders into something gentle.

Length: approx 3cm

Material: Brass, gold metal plating, cotton textile

Period: 1960s-70s

Condition: Excellent vintage condition

Sourced/Made in: Austria (stamped)

***This item will be dispatched on 12th May***

Eight days, eight quiet scenes from early summer. From the 29th of April through the 6th of May, a small selection of pieces drawn from the colours, the air, the details of this brief season between spring and summer. However you spend these days, we hope something here finds its way to you.