Earring thumbnail 1
Earring thumbnail 2
+2
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91 to 93 mezzanine, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Earring

ca. 1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The international fashion for beetle jewellery parallelled that for bird jewellery. The Report of the International Exhibition of 1872 expressed reservations about the beetle jewellery contributed by Ward & Co. and A. Boucard. In 1884 or 1885, a suite of beetle jewellery was made for Lord Granville's second wife, in the Egyptian style, probably by Phillips Brothers.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Earring
  • Earring
Materials and techniques
Tortoise beetles on gilt metal leaves
Brief description
Tortoise beetles on gilded metal leaves, England, about 1850
Physical description
Pair of tortoise beetles on gilt metal leaves
Dimensions
  • Height: 4cm
  • Width: 2cm
  • Depth: 1.1cm
Credit line
Given by Mrs John Hull Grundy
Historical context
The tortoise beetle is only found in Brazil and was commonly used in jewellery. The international fashion for beetle jewellery paralleled that for bird jewellery. The Report of the International Exhibition of 1872 expressed reservations about the beetle jewellery contributed by Ward & Co. and A. Boucard. In 1884 or 1885, a suite of beetle jewellery was made for Lord Granville’s second wife, in the Egyptian style, probably by Phillips Brothers
Summary
The international fashion for beetle jewellery parallelled that for bird jewellery. The Report of the International Exhibition of 1872 expressed reservations about the beetle jewellery contributed by Ward & Co. and A. Boucard. In 1884 or 1885, a suite of beetle jewellery was made for Lord Granville's second wife, in the Egyptian style, probably by Phillips Brothers.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.279&A-1960

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Record createdAugust 15, 2007
Record URL
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