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Brooch
Italian
late 19th century
Object Place: American or European
Medium/Technique
Gilded metal and lava stone
Dimensions
Height x width x depth: 3.4 x 5.3 x 1 cm (1 5/16 x 2 1/16 x 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Maxim Karolik
Accession Number64.623
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Brooches
DescriptionThis horizonally rectangular brooch of grey-brown lava stone is set into a gilded metal frame with an open back crossed by a pin back. The shallow carving has an obscure iconography illustrating a veiled head of a woman in profile observing a winged owl. The flowers in her hair and held in the talons of the bird, most likely cornflowers, and the owl, illudes to ancient Egyptian art. The large word "NOTTE" carved into the back translates to "night" in Italian, and also affirms the meaning of the iconography of an owl.
Marks
There is a mark located on both the bar of the pin and on the loop attched to back of piece that pin bar fits into. It is three ojects which one is possibly a 6 or 9