No, I haven't made these. I found then on a shelf in big warehouse, selling all things used and cheap things new. I fell for the tiny details in them -- and the price was so low I just had to buy them. The one on the left has a broken mechanism and the one on the right is yellow with age and stains, but still not something to be forgotten on a steel shelf, bunched together with cheap plastic jewellery and all kinds of crap.
Imagine having the patience to do such tiny half cross stitches as in the embroidered brooch. Or assemble the tiny pieces in the micro-mosaic brooch. Below is a second pic of the rose brooch with a ruler as reference -- do you see how tiny those stitches are?!
But my all time favourite brooch is my sterling silver cat that I found as a kid at an antiquity show. I had to plead a bit with my parents to be allowed to buy it, but since it was real silver and a lovely motif they agreed it was a good buy.
My dad's oldest sister aswell as his mum died long before I was born so my sister and I grew up with many things they left behind, including some costume jewellery. My parents don't come from wealthy families, but everyone could afford a few trinkets to adorn themselves. They are not precious, but playing with them as a kid it still felt like real jewels. Broken an bent, the brooches were still treasures.
That's a project for the future, perhaps restore them to their old beauty.
one of the brooches you found in that warehouse looks like it might be Italian ceramics. They usually sell for $250+
ReplyDeleteLovely treasures you have there. The micro mosaic could be a souvenir from Italy. I'm glad that your parents let you buy the wonderful cat.It is adorable. I think the brooches from your granny and aunt are special. I guess they bought the brooches themselves. Expensive jewellery is often bought as a present and doesn't necessarily say so much about the receiver.
ReplyDeleteThat Italian tile brooch isn't in the 250 price range as the first comment suggests.... it's on the lower-quality end of its type, tho a nice find nonetheless!
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