Unusual Vintage Cherub Necklace, any Ideas?

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essentialvintage

Registered Guest
Hello everyone!

I posted this necklace on a different vintage forum so I wasn't bombarding this one too much, but have had no replies or guesses regarding it after severl weeks.

Does anyone have any idea about it's age or maker?

I love it, it is unsigned and as you can see has some age, some parts have blue corrossion, not sure if it will clean up. It has a very metally smell if that makes sense! I love the little cherub faces, the ornate design and the coloured stones (cabochons?).

Your help, even if just guesses would be much appreciated. Thanks to the forum users for help with my other pieces :)
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The green colour is made by copper metal oxidizing I believe, it doesn't indicate that the piece is old, I have a souvenir necklace less than 10 years old that I have to clean everytime I take it out of the box to wear. You can usually rub it off with a cloth though on the face of your cherub it looks as though it has worn through the plating to the base metal so it may not be wise to rub too hard there.

Linn who has a fountain of jewellery knowledge should be able to help with dating. It looks vaguely like a 50's revival of an older style to me.
 
Oh, that's lovely! How long is it? I'm wondering if it could possibly be a belt...

I have an early 20th century (gilt brass) choker with some similarities in construction to yours, but it's much shorter--a "dog collar" type necklace:

http://www.rubylane.com/item/395647-fancy71/Art-Nouveau-Transitional-Gilt-Brass

Your piece looks to be long enough to be a belt, and like it might hang "strangely" if worn as a necklace. As far as date, I suppose it could be a revival piece, as cherubs were a popular motif in 50s jewelry. But they were also common in Victorian jewelry (check out the examples on Jane Clarke's site), and I'm not convinced this isn't older... Hopefully one of our jewelry mavens will be along shortly!

You can clean off the verdigris (gently, as Pinkcoke suggests!) by wiping with white vinegar and a cloth, or something containing white vinegar--ie ketchup or mayonnaise.
 
Oh that's a really good thought Carrie! I can see it now as a medieval style belt in something like 'Camelot'

I was going to ask if it had been shortened, as it looks a little out of place that there are two cherub motifs next to each other breaking the pattern before the clasp.
 
I don't think it's a belt - but how long is it? My first impression/guesstimate is the same as Melanie's (Pincoke's) - '50's revival. I've had some W&D and Florenza with this type of "flavor." But, I could be totally wrong since this really isn't the type of jewelry that I'm most familiar with.

I agree with using white vinegar or lemon juice, or ketchup to remove the verdigris. I've also had good luck with Jewelry Joose which is going to be available again shortly under a different name.

Carrie, your choker is lovely!
 
Actually thinking about it now a couple of things strike me: the clasp is very typical for 50's / 60's necklaces, I'm not sure you'd have a fastening like that on a belt as surely it wouldn't stay hooked for long? Also, if it were a belt I think I'd expect to see the motifs attached with rings on the bottom as well as the top, the reason for only one is to let it splay out around the neck.
 
It sure does have that neo-Renaissance/Revival look -- and at first glance it looks 20's, however as everyone has mentioned, it has later attributes as well, such as the brushed matte surface, and solidly cast panels.

Yet that style of shepherd's hook looks earlier (20's/30's), and overall looks like Bohemian tombac. That *is* a gorgeous piece Carrie.
 
I'm seeing a fabulous older piece with Art Nouveau influences, just the way the back links on the Cherubs look. It looks like oxidization to me more than just verdigris, that won't clean but I've had oxidized pieces from this period through to the 30s that still sold. Is there any evidence of a broken link by the clasp? Looks like one is missing there, could be the oxidization weakened the link so someone connected it to the next one over.
 
First of all many thanks for so many replies! I am so pleased and grateful! Can't believe I forgot to put the measurements, sorry about that, as the photos totally give you misleading idea of scale.

It actually measures approx 16" in length making it choker length, Each cherub link is about 1" in length.

Thinking about it, it does smell just like our english 2 pence pieces made from copper, so the copper suggestion fits nicely there.

I didn't previously notice that the pattern isn't consistent! Amazing what you don't notice. Looks as though one 'link' may have been taken out to shorten it perhaps or as suggested one may have corroded through and been taken out.

Now I know from your help that it isn't mega old, i feel less worried about trying to clean it up! I love it, it looks good on, but unfortunately I am allergic to copper. Just holding the necklace gives me a metal taste in my mouth and it irritates my skin, another clue to it's material for me!

I find the way the little cherub heads have been attached to the links interesting. Looks like a lot of work has gone in to it, has a bit of quality to it. Thanks Carrie for the web links, your choker has been constructed similarly and is lovely!!

Sorry for the confusion regarding size and many thanks to everyone for your thoughts so far~!!!!
 
I don't think it's copper. It looks like brass; but since brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and you react to it just holding it -you might still have a problem wearing it. I would recommend cleaning it and then see how it goes since you may be reacting to the verdigris. Just editing to add that I believe Laura is correct that it is tombac; a brass alloy with a high copper content.
 
wow awesome...i do not have any idea about this neckline age...but i love it.
It looks like royal ornaments....work over it is so beautiful and delicate. even stones look good. It is quite different and unique design.
 
HI,

I am not a jewelry person per se so I bow to those here who have far more knowledge than I. That said, I had a necklace in the 1980's that looked very much like yours, except it was not cherubs, it was small crosses with a large cross pendant. The clasp, the metal, the stones, all looked the same. It was made to go with the Gothic craze and had a very Renaissance look to it. Although yours does have an older look to it than mine did. Oh yes, mine was made in Asia somewhere, I forget where....maybe India? I like yours a lot.
 
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