Jewelry

Item Description

I've never seen this many jewels -- 32 total -- packed onto so little metalwork, which gives these antique earrings a really opulent look. There was certainly no conflict between being a Suffragette and being highly feminine. There are five faceted pastes in each earring, plus 10 faux pearls and a very dimensional heart-shaped leaf of faux opal with loads of fire, that seems to be carved, rather than molded.

I date the pair to the Edwardian era, give or take a few years. A hint of Victorian Art Nouveau remains evident in their curvy starburst or pinwheel form, but they also have the delicacy that we associate with Edwardian and transitional styles. The glass is Bohemian / Czech, based on its quality, and all stones appear original. Settings are gilt brass with screw-backs and it takes magnification to notice surface wear. There's still a lot of shine. Size is about 3/4" in one dimension and 7/8" in the other, but they seem larger because there's so much going on. Although from an estate in Ohio, these seem decidedly European to me -- probably Austro-Hungarian in the last days of Empire, made for export to the Suffragette market in the UK or US.

As you know if you collect Suffragette jewelry, the unusual combination of colors is what we look for. Green stood for hope, purple for dignity and white 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.

To the Suffragettes' efforts through many decades in the U.K. and U.S., we modern women owe our right to vote. That right was finally extended to all American women in 1920 and to all in Great Britain in 1928. Thus, although most of the jewelry is Victorian, Edwardian or transitional, some was crafted in the Art Deco era.

Forgotten for many years, these jewels have been rapidly gaining value since the star-studded TV 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've made them a specialty at GlitzQueen and are proud that one of our Suffragette brooches is owned by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, recent author of Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box.

Item Special Note

GlitzQueen History & Art to Wear congratulates Netroots Nation and is delighted to be an auction donor for the third year.  The owner is a progressive blogger featured at Dandelion Salad as The Other Katherine Harris.