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Huge Antique Italian Seed Pearl Earrings

$1,150.00
$1,150.00
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Product Info

These monumental seed pearl earrings were made in Naples, Italy in the mid-19th century. A similar pair resides in the Victoria and Albert Museum and was part of the Castellani collection of Italian peasant jewelry that was exhibited at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1867 and purchased by the V & A.

The earrings are approximately 8.5 centimeters long and have tiny seed pearls attached by fine wires. The surmounts are approximately 1" in diameter and have a spiral of seed pearls covering the gently raised domes. The drops have and border of seed pearls with circular elements that echo the surmounts and which appear to float within the delicate filigree that surrounds them.

The last two photos are of the earrings in the V & A collection and of the plate in the catalogue published by the Arundel Society of the collection (the V & A earrings are just barely visible on the top row of the plate).

See below for more details

Call 510-290-1747 or

email LisaKramerVintage@gmail.com

  • Materials:

    seed pearls, 12-14 karat gold. The clip backs were a later addition and are not gold

  • Size:

    8.5 centimers (3-1/4") long x 4 cm wide

  • Marks:

    none.

  • Age:

    mid-19th century. The V & A dates the pair in their collection to 1830-1867

  • Condition:

    Wearable, but very delicate and not for frequent wear. The seed pearls are held by fine wires, some of which are gold and some of which are steel and which have bits of rust. It should be expected that if worn there will be some pearl loss when the wires fail. There is some loss of seed pearls around the edges, particularly near the clip backs.

    At some point, the original earwires were replaced by clip backs with soft solder and some of the solder is visible on the front at the top of the surmount.

  • Sku:

    LK8128