English Butterfly Pendant

 This one-of-a-kind necklace is composed of:

• Victorian, sterling silver dress pin from the late 1800s featuring a raised rose gold filled butterfly motif on the front with hand engraved and embossed details. This piece was originally made and sourced in England.

• This necklace measures a standard 18” on a 14k gold filled chain. The pendant measures 2" in width. 

THE HISTORY:

Insects were an incredibly popular motif in Victorian jewelry. Butterflies and caterpillars were common, as were dragonflies and beetles. Insects like these reflected change and transformations in life - embracing it rather than fearing it.

Partly inspired by the Ancient Egyptians and in part by a renewed love of nature and the countryside in light of rapid urbanization, natural motifs such as insects were seen as genteel, nurturing and virtuous.

It was in the 1860s that Victorian women first began to wear beetles and other insect motifs on their clothes and accessories, with parasols, hats, and shawls often featuring bejeweled and gilded insects, as well as bracelets, earrings, and rings.