Exquisitely carved and excellent, this Victorian era brooch is considered mourning jewelry. The iconography of the harvest, lush grains of wheat on cut shafts, bound in a tether or ribbon and bow. The harvest of a life, representing the good harvest of a life well-lived. Like a lot of mourning jewelry, this one has been kept as a memento, doesn't show damage and is such an elegant showpiece. Pinback remains and it can be worn, and someone has added the safely of a guard chain sometime later on. Were it to be dropped, or fall off the lapel, it would shatter, so the guard chain also shows its value to whomever the family was whose ancestor's memory this represents. So fine! A big 2 1/2" long, too.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. Slender carvings and cutaways make this 3-dimensional big brooch a stunning piece of jewelry - some 170 years old now (give or take 10 years). Several very similar examples can be found in the British Museum, helping us to date them and with identification. I spend half my time in museums, researching. Labor of love. These old treasures are, each one, works of art. Full measurements noted on our photos. The box does not close and isn't for this brooch, but is one used to show the piece off. It will not be included.
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details.
