Here’s a fun find from the pawn shop recently.
A French silver cicada brooch.
It has the boar’s head assay mark for .800 silver, and a maker’s mark that says J D.
The marks are impossibly tiny! The pawn shop guys never saw them.
A knowledgeable friend tells me that cicadas are the symbol for Provence, and these brooches are worn by ladies on traditional folk attire.
Anyway, I had to have it! The clasp is broken, so I will secure it with a rubber earring back on the pin part.
I did some research, and I think the maker is Jean Dupre, active 1879-1891
Oh my gosh! That’s crazy real looking. I love it; I really like cicadas. When I was little I picked up a dead one and put it in a little box and kept it for years. Call me crazy.
@nanc9354
They had trays and trays of assorted sterling brooches and other items. I was interested, but I got distracted by an antique English ladle, which I bought.
But later that day, I got to thinking about this brooch, and so I ran back the next morning grab it!
I think I have a cicada in Jadeite but your piece made me think of this antique gold beetle pin I had many years ago that had an actual beetle inside. I had no idea it was a real until one day I decided to look at it with a loupe. I couldn’t tell you where it is now though.
@CyanideRose18
Yes! Iridescent beetles are used in jewelry…I had a pair of earrings that were beautiful metallic blue green, made from beetle wings.
I couldn’t get over the ick factor, so I sold them.
(I used to have a booth in an antique mall.)
We had dogs when I was a kid, and I don’t remember them eating them. But a cat we had years ago was an indoor/outdoor cat, and if she saw one on the ground she would go sit by it. She would stare at it and then look at me like, “are you going to do something about this thing?”
My cat now chases down spiders and eats them so maybe she’d chase cicadas if she got a chance
That is just beautiful—and the underside is so detailed too—what exquisite craftsmanship. It’s a treasure
Incidentally, I discovered the Provence/cicada connection a few weeks back because I was puzzled as to why some Provençal tablecloths had a “bug” pattern printed on them There’s even a business that sells these tablecloths called La Cigale (the cicada).
I love vintage pieces like this. The detail on the wings is so cool. Lovely find Stracci.
so maybe she’d chase cicadas if she got a chance
There’s even a business that sells these tablecloths called La Cigale (the cicada).