You all were so much help on my last pin I've got another one for you.... Picked up in a thrift shop of course. I suspect that this was initially a pendant and the chain was lost so someone attached (crookedly) a pin mechanism to the back of the pendant. The back of the pendant is stamped Sterling Silver 22. The picture on the front appears to be of a puritan lady or at least a lady of that time period in the foreground and a body of water with three ships in the background. The glass over the picture is rounded, it does not distort the picture from what I can tell. I don't know if the picture is a separate item pressed between the glass and the back of the pendant or if the picture is painted onto the glass or back of the pendant. The picture has a shiny/iridescent quality to it. It is about the diameter of a quarter. My pictures do not do the front justice because the lighting is so bright and bounces off the glass.
You know what, now that you say that I see that. It would make sense with the ships in the background.
Lori - Can you try to get a larger, closer photo, front and back so we can can a better look at the piece? Preferably not in the case. Thanks!
These pins were made from butterfly wing under the glass. Yours looks like it may have some Mother of Pearl in the mix, too, but can't tell from the photos. I'll look again if you post other pics to see a closer view. If I can later this week, I'll try to photograph the one that I purchased in England some years ago. It also had a dutch scene, is silver and is stamped on the back with English hallmarks. My brooch is quite large and the colors are lovely. The glass over the butterfly wing pictorial is quite thick and I would say magnifies the design a bit. I am really not quite sure of the date. I've always thought they may be from the late 1920s. I have a smaller pendant that is set in gold that has the butterfly wing made into a little different design.....not a dutch motif at all. The smaller pendant may be a little later period. You seem to have found a nice piece, Lori, and I will look forward to seeing a close up of your photo, too. BTW, your brooch appears to have a similar trim around the bezel as my dutch theme brooch! Can't tell for sure, but it does look similar. I'll try to post pics tomorrow afternoon.
Bonnie, thank you so much! I'll try and take some more pictures to help us out! Butterfly wing..that would certainly explain the iridescent quality.
Here are my butterfly wing pieces, Lori. Sorry the photos are not too clear, but took them in rather a hurry last evening. and, on looking at this brooch/pendant again a little more closely, I don't think this is a Dutch maiden. The hat is a little hard to tell what style it is. It does look a little like a Dutch hat, but not exactly. Could be just a little pointed hat with a flower on the side. She is sitting by a cross hatched window. Her clothes are created with butterfly wing and there is also a little bit in the window. Over time, some of the wing has lost it's brilliance and deteriorated to some small extent. The crystal that is covering the image is very thick and the setting is silver with English hallmarks. This is a very weighty piece and I presume the little safety pin that is attached is to help secure the brooch. It measures 2 1/2" round. I believe this piece may is from the 1920s. It is marked T.L.M and under the maker's mark there are the English Hallmarks of the Anchor, Lion and Y. I'm not as knowledgeable about British Hallmarks, but after a little research, if I am reading the marks correctly, I think the anchor indicates the town of Birmingham, the rampant lion indicates the quality of the silver and the Y dates the brooch to 1923. If any of our members from England want to weigh in on these marks, I would be very appreciative of any information they may offer. I was unable to identify the maker's initial marks. I purchased it in 1998 at a market near London.
Here is the second piece which is a small reversible pendant set in 14kt gold. It's close to 1" round and actually usually a butterfly theme. On one side there is a real little mouthlike set against the butterfly wing background and on the other it's more of a heart shape made of butterfly wing. This piece appears to me to be later, possibly 1940s and that's clearly a guess. I have seen some souvenir pieces that were made in the pacific islands that were brought back as souvenirs. They were made from butterfly wing but most always have an island theme. I willl look forward to seeing closer pics of yours, as I think your find is more like my English brooch and could be from the same era.
Here is one of the 40s island theme pieces with butterfly wing that I was referring to in my previous post. You see these quite often offered for sale. This one is listed currently on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/768508...940s+butterfly+wing&ref=sr_gallery-1-14&cns=1 And, yet another style from the 1920s on Etsy...... https://www.etsy.com/listing/624306...landingpage_similar_listing_top-4&pro=1&frs=1
Lori, you might want to edit your title of this forum by adding possibly......"help with a brooch, please". This might attract some more comments from our jewelry experts. Just a suggestion.......
Bonnie, I apologize it has taken me so long to post some additional pics. Also, I'm afraid these pics aren't much better but perhaps they aren't quite as distorted by the glare.....and now I am getting a security error so it won't let me post them. I'll try starting a new thread.
