Year :
|
c.1870 |
Material :
|
Gold,Pecan Nut,Tortoise-Shell |
Collection :
|
ALBION ART Collection |
|
<Description>
The gold mounted parure consists of a tortoiseshell comb, the gallery decorated with Greek fret pattern, surmounted by seven pecan nuts with matching pair of earrings, necklace and bracelet, all fringed with pendant nuts of uniform size. C.1870.
<Commentary>
The desire for novelty on the part of fashionable women in the second half of the nineteenth century led to the adoption of unusual and non precious materials such as beetles and wood for jewellery. Here a collection of pecan nuts, smooth, pinkish brown in colour and pointed at the ends have been hung like drops from the ears, from a gold chain necklace and bracelet, and set upright on the comb in the fashionable style of the time. The unusual material could act as a talking point on social occasions, and the bracelet for instance might be handed around the dinner table so that guests might identify the drops.
Diana Scarisbrick |
