A locket that combines two highly specific late 19th century fads. The first is "Mizpah," a word from the old testament that describes a bond and Victorian shorthand for "I love and miss you." The second, ferns! Long ago, in the days before social media and streaming television and electric lighting, the upper echelons of British society were gripped by what is scientifically named pteridomania but in common parlance is known as "Fern Madness." From the mid Victorian period until about the 1890s, fern hunting was a wildly popular hobby. Both amateur and professional botanists would hunt for fern specimens and catalog them as a pleasure pursuit. This enthusiasm for the fronded plant translated to the decorative arts and a great deal of pottery, textiles, wallpaper, and yes, also jewelry. The ferns on the back side of this locket are engraved with the name "Bella."
MATERIALS: 14k gold (tests), glass lenses, new 14k gold chain
AGE: c. 1880
CONDITION: Very good - minor surface wear commensurate with age and use
SIZE: 1 5/8" length including the bale, 1" width, 18" chain