Ornate Seamstresses Victorian Scissors With Original Coffin Case. C. 1890. Germany. Sterling silver. Brass. Steel. Velvet. | dustyatticantiques via Etsy.
Silver disc brooch of Ædwen Anglo-Scandinavian, first half of 11th century AD From Sutton, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England Inscribed with a curse A hoard of objects, which included coins, gold rings and this brooch, was discovered during the ploughing of a field in 1694. The objects disappeared, but the brooch was rediscovered in a private collection in 1951 when it was bought by the British Museum. The brooch is made from a hammered sheet of silver. The engraved decoration is based around four overlapping circles forming flower-like motifs. At the centre of these flowers are conical raised bosses, one of which is now missing. Within the circles are different animals, some four-legged, others like snakes, surrounded by stylized plant ornament in an English version of the Ringerike style. There is an inscription in Old English around the edge on the back. Uniquely, it tells us who owned the brooch. The inscription may be translated as: 'Ædwen owns me, may the Lord own her. May the Lord curse him who takes me from her, unless she gives me of her own free will'. The back of the brooch is also decorated and has a fragment of silver strip attached, onto which the fixings for the missing pin were mounted. This strip is engraved with seven imitation Anglo-Saxon runes which cannot be read. The nature of the damage may indicate that the brooch was torn quickly and with some force from clothing and then buried, perhaps at a time of danger. The bold but simple decoration, the size of the brooch and the inscription suggest that its owner was a woman of some status. | The British Museum
Pair of royal finger rings Æthelwulf ring: Laverstock, Wiltshire, AD 828-58 Æthelswith ring: Aberford, West Yorkshire Each engraved with the name of an Anglo-Saxon ruler The two rings have similar inscriptions which identify them with the royal house of Wessex. As a result, they are often considered as a pair. However, they in fact come from different places, are of different date and are likely to have been made by different goldsmiths. The oldest and largest of the rings was found in 1780 in a cart-rut which probably accounts for its squashed appearance. It has an almost triangular bezel, which depicts a stylized plant motif between two birds. Below this main decoration is a rectangular panel carrying an inscription which can be read as 'Æthelwulf Rex' (King Æthelwulf). The hoop of the ring is wide and flat and is decorated with a quatrefoil and interlaced knot design. The second ring, ploughed up in 1870, has a circular bezel with a beaded frame and contains a cruciform (cross-shaped) design filled with leaf motifs. Within a central circle is a charming four-legged animal with a halo and the letters A and D which stand for 'Agnus Dei' (Lamb of God). This ring has the name of King Æthelwulf's daughter, 'Æthelswith Regina' (Queen Æthelswith), scratched into the back of the bezel. The hoop is plain and terminates in flattened shoulders decorated with further animals. The ornament on both rings is inlaid with niello to make it stand out. Although both show signs of wear, it is unlikely that they were worn by the King and Queen, but were probably royal gifts or symbols of office. | THE BRITISH MUSEUM
An enamel fob watch depicting a young girl in a pink and blue dress holding a puppy in front of Lake Genova. Circa 1840. | BENTLEY & SKINNER
THE NECKLACE OF STARS The Necklace of the Stars was made in 1865 for the wife of King Luís I of Portugal, Queen Cosort Maria Pia of Savoy, who had a love for jewelry and fashion. The necklace was fashioned in the workshop of the Portuguese Royal Jeweler in Lisbon, Portugal. The necklace is just a piece of a whole set of jewelry that was commissioned by Maria Pia, which includes the famed Diadem of the Stars, the counterpart of the necklace. From here: ↳ Honey Kennedy