Archaeological Revival jewelry may be the place where all the circles in my nerdy Venn diagram overlap. Nostalgia, 19th century science, archaeology, mass media, Victorian trends, and TREASURE. When English people got a look at the jewelry coming out of newly unearthed ancient tombs, they lost their collective minds. Copies and (somewhat mangled) interpretations of Egyptian, Assyrian, and Etruscan pieces were churned out to meet demand, and many survive to show us a snapshot of the Victorian psyche.
MATERIALS: 14k gold (tests), banded agate
AGE: c. 1860
CONDITION: Very good
SIZE: 6.5" inner circumference, 1 1/2" x 1/4" head, 1.7mm twisted wire shank