Featured Black (mourning?) brooch

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by MmePlantier, Mar 22, 2022.

  1. MmePlantier

    MmePlantier Active Member

    Hello,

    I hope you are all well!
    I'm writing you about a black round brooch, with a carved leaf motif and a central round floral decoration surrounded by black rhinestones. The brooch has a trombone clasp. This piece is very charming, but unfortunately I have no information about its geographic origin or its age.

    The disc (4.5 cm diameter) is very lightweight and is not perfectly flat, but has some kind of very slight ondulation when looked from the side. The little black faceted stones are not all identical in size.
    What kind of material could it be? Plastic/early plastic/other?
    How could I understand more about its dating? My conjecture would be Victorian mourning brooch (or a later Victorian revival) but I don't know much about this period...

    Thank you very much!

    brooch1.jpg brooch 3.jpg

    brooch2.jpg

    brooch4.jpg
     
    stracci, KSW and moreotherstuff like this.
  2. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    horn..?
     
    stracci and MmePlantier like this.
  3. MmePlantier

    MmePlantier Active Member

    Horn would make much more sense, as it would explain the kind of carving too!
     
    stracci and komokwa like this.
  4. KSW

    KSW Well-Known Member

    Horn reacts under UV light so you could try that?
     
    stracci likes this.
  5. Pattywithay

    Pattywithay Well-Known Member

    Could be Gutta Percha.

    Gutta Percha is a rubber-like gum made of the resin derived from trees in Southeast Asia, mainly Malaysia. Like its synthetic cousin, vulcanite, it is brownish-black in appearance (but tended to hold its black matte color over time better) and is molded rather than carved—so, "sometimes you can detect mold lines, with the eye or a loupe," Stockhammer observes. It will give off an acrid, rubber smell when rubbed briskly.


    Highly flexible yet durable, it was first used during the 1840s for jewelry. In the latter 19th century, it was employed as a less expensive substitute for jet in mourning jewelry. (taken from thesprucecrafts.com)
     
    stracci, KSW and komokwa like this.
  6. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    I was thinking vulcanite. It's hard rubber and turns that color brown with age. Browner than gutta percha. The trombone clasp means it was made post-1850-something.
     
    KSW and stracci like this.
  7. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    With that hinge and clasp, late 19th and probably French.
     
    KSW and stracci like this.
  8. Rabid Collector

    Rabid Collector Well-Known Member

    Have you thought of jet? That’s also lightweight and easily carved.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted
Similar Threads: Black (mourning)
Forum Title Date
Jewelry Silver Blackamoor Brooch Aug 9, 2024
Jewelry Black Spots inside the Rhinestone on Pendant Jun 14, 2024
Jewelry Thrift Find: Questions on Black Plastic Necklace Mar 12, 2024
Jewelry Vintage Black Diamond Jewelry Feb 25, 2024
Jewelry Help with age and description on this silver pin with black rhinestones Jan 27, 2024

Share This Page