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Solid Silver Ginkgo Leaf Earrings Cast From An Art Nouveau Button

Solid Silver Ginkgo Leaf Earrings Cast From An Art Nouveau Button

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I collect antique buttons as a hobby and came across the rare example of an Art Nouveau brass button with leaves and foliage from the maidenhair tree. It makes an excellent subject for casting in so that I was able to reproduce the design in solid sterling silver for this elegant pair of earrings. I added a delicately curved loop to the top to allow them to hang from my hand forged sterling silver ear hooks and oxidized them in black to bring out the details of the leaves. Designs from this time are often fuse Celtic knot-work with the stylized natural forms found in Japanese art and this design is particularly intricate but simple enough to wear every day. They would make a perfect present for a silver wedding anniversary or special birthday. They measure 1" or 25 mm in length and are 1.5 mm thick. They are packaged in a gift box decorated with a bow. The vintage lipstick case shown in photograph 5 measures 3" or 80 mm and is shown to give a sense of scale.

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The button used to cast this design is a lucky survivor. It was made during the Art Nouveau period before the outbreak of World War 1 along with large numbers of other brass buttons which were cheap and popular at the time. After the outbreak of war the public were encouraged to donate their brass buttons to the war effort, in order to make shell casings and bullets. For this reason hardly any Art Nouveau buttons survive in brass, far fewer than their more expensive silver counterparts. It is therefore my pleasure to share this lucky button, which has only ever been used for peaceful purposes, once more with the world.

The leaf it depicts is from the Gingkgo, or Maidenhair Tree. This tree is not only a living fossil, a survivor from the age of the dinosaurs itself, but the leaves are also taken as a herbal supplement to improve circulation and memory.

This item will be posted to you by Mermaid's Purse Jewellery within 3 days of receiving payment.

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Designed by Samantha Stanley in Burgess Hill

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