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1870s Gold and Enamel Star Pendant Earrings
$7,500
These pendant earrings in 14K gold, enamel and diamond were created in the 1870s, possibly in England. Each flexible multi-tiered form is designed as an oval top suspending an elongated elliptical form with ball and wirework accents framing a flexibly-set spherule and ovoid pendant with blue tracery enamel star centering a rose-cut diamond highlight. Delightfully lightweight, these intriguing antique earrings are animated by the gentle motion of their multiple independently moving parts and layers of complex interlocking shapes that intrigue the eye.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: ER-21025
Country: Possibly England
Circa: 1870s
Dimensions: 2.00" length x 0.625" width
Materials: 2 rose-cut diamonds (with approximate total weight 0.04 carat); 14K Gold; Enamel
Literature: Long "drop" earrings similar to this design are among those pictured on pp.165-166 of Victorian Jewellery, by Margaret Flower.
Long earrings from this period were wonderfully varied in design, both long and short in form. Margaret Flower notes that a period writer described their complex, multi-part designs as "drops" and "forms within other forms" that might have gemstones or Etruscan patterns as decoration. These competed for women's attention with designs for smaller earrings, inspired by Parisian women, in graphic designs that included crosses, hearts, stars, flowers and small animals.