These Neoclassical earrings are made from tortoiseshell from the Hawksbill turtle, now protected under the Endangered Species Act. Before ecological concerns, people admired this material for it's thermoplastic qualities: it withstands repeated softening by heating and will harden again when cooled (in an amphora-shaped mold, for example). Before the invention of plastic, it was a wonder.
MATERIALS: 14k gold (tests), tortoiseshell
AGE: c. 1860
CONDITION: Very good
SIZE: 2 1/2" length measured from the top of the ear wire, 5/8" width