Magnificent Victorian Operculum Necklace in Gilded Silver, England Circa 1865

The Victorian desire for new and previously unseen materials sometimes led to bizarre blooms that astonish today's observer. Particularly popular were materials from the animal world, whose beauty could rival any precious stone. The amazingly colourful lids with which the Turbo petholatus turban snail closes its shell are certainly one of them. Scientifically, these rounded objects, reminiscent of colourfully painted, glazed porcelain, are known as operculum (Latin for "little lid"). Their center is bright green and turns from light orange to brown at the edges. Because of this striking pattern, the opercula of the turban snail are also known as cat's eyes, while in Asia they are regarded as the eyes of the god Shiva. This necklace, which we discovered in England, presents seven of these unusual marine treasures. Surrounded by restrained settings of gold-plated silver, the opercula are mounted like garlands with suspended intermediate chains on a thick, particularly supple chain. This piece of jewellery was created around 1865, when a constant influx of exotic materials from the global colonial empire reached the English motherland. Even today, it bears witness to Victorian extravagance, but also to the thirst for knowledge of an era when Charles Darwin revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution. Further information on this extraordinary jewellery fashions can be found in Charlotte Gere/Judy Rudoe: Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria, London: British Museum Press 2010, pp. 225-229.

Estimate:$3,351.14

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