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Beautiful Edwardian Garland Style Suffragette Earrings browse these categories for related items... All Items: Archives: Estate Jewelry: Gold: Edwardian: Pre 1920: item # 706982 GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear 56 Calle Monte Aplanado, NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 Phone: 505.205.1404 Guest Book Sold; thank you! $145 (Free U.S. Priority Shipping & Gift-Wrap if Desired) |
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These are easily the loveliest Suffragette earrings we've ever had the opportunity to offer, featuring an airy openwork setting that screams Garland Style. This was essentially a fit of neo-classicism, thrown in reaction to the excesses of Art Nouveau. Cartier was the movement's first exemplar around 1900. It had only a brief heyday, unfortunately, since World War I changed the mood entirely (leading to the dominance of sleek, modernistic Art Deco forms).
Garland Style jewels have a refined and delicately lacy look, employing decorative elements used in the late 18th century (and, long before then, in real classical times). This half-wreath of precisely detailed leaves and tendrils is a pretty example -- the sort of pattern we see often as inlay in Georgian and later Edwardian furniture -- but here it takes on what was then a very modern touch: stones in Suffragette colors! As you know if you collect Suffragette jewelry, the unusual combination of green, purple and white had deep meaning for early feminists. For them, green represented hope, purple signified dignity and white stood for purity. The language we associate with "regard" jewelry applied, too: The "G" of green, "W" of white and "V" of violet comprised an abbreviation for Give Women (the) Vote. All this seems cryptic now, but was clearly understood by everyone in an era when messages were also communicated by which flowers you sent, how you held your fan and which corner of a calling card you folded down, if any. The wealthiest suffragettes mixed amethysts and pearls or diamonds with green stones such as emeralds or peridots, but pretend gems were naturally favored by the majority. In this case, we have faux jade of beautifully marbled early plastic (probably Galalith, invented in the 1890s) plus amethyst pastes and faux pearls. Everything remains in wonderful condition, including the gilding. It takes high magnification to notice any surface wear at all. That isn't unusual, since Suffragette jewels were worn only occasionally (most notably, when marching for the vote). To the Suffragettes' efforts through many decades in the U.K. and U.S., we modern women owe that right, which was finally extended to all American women in 1920 and to all in Great Britain in 1928. Tucked away and forgotten for decades, Suffragette jewelry has been rapidly gaining value since the movie "Iron Jawed Angels" appeared in 2004, revealing what the gals went through (including hunger strikes and beatings). Wearing Suffragette jewels is a great way to show your pride and appreciation and, now that the genre has been rediscovered, they're getting much harder to find. We try our best to maintain a good selection, but demand keeps growing. If these earrings strike your fancy, you'd better not delay. They date from circa 1905 - 1915 and reached us from a San Francisco estate. The have screw fasteners right for the period and could have been made by an East Coast firm in America, although the quality of the stones suggests origin in Bohemia or France. There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail erinharris@comcast.net to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking! |
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