{"id":952936,"date":"2024-08-09T14:23:13","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T13:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/?post_type=product&p=952936"},"modified":"2025-04-15T23:14:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T22:14:23","slug":"victorian-18ct-gold-shell-brooch-with-a-rose-diamond-set-snake-natural-pearl-within","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/shop\/victorian-18ct-gold-shell-brooch-with-a-rose-diamond-set-snake-natural-pearl-within\/","title":{"rendered":"Victorian 18ct Gold & Shell Brooch with a Rose Diamond Set Snake & Natural Pearl Within"},"content":{"rendered":"

An extraordinary novelty brooch that was made circa 1880-1900. It is composed of a real sea shell with a snake inside set with rose diamonds and a real natural pearl and has 18ct gold fittings.<\/p>\n

It appears to be\u00a0 ‘Snake Pearl.’ In essence, it’s a play on words on each of the elements, the snake and pearl. The shell element is rarer to find on a snake pearl.<\/p>\n

A snake pearl, is also known as a nagamani, cobra pearl, or snake stone. In real life, it’s a stone or animal bone that is used in folk medicine. Some believe that possessing a genuine and real snake pearl can bring good fortune, devotion, godliness, and fame.
\nThe scallop shell could denote the pearls origin or a Christian symbol of pilgrimage throughout life. Spiritually, seashells are believed to carry calming, healing energies. Some people believe a shell’s hard texture makes one’s mind stronger. That is why seashells stand for a resilient and determined mindset. It also represents protection against evil spirits. Similarly, others believe shells are a bridge between the physical and the supernatural realm.<\/p>\n

So it may be a christening shell brooch for a girl, owing to the pink shell. White backed shells are usually for boys. Packages with a Christening shell are still available to buy today, typically for the Catholic faith.<\/div>\n
The very small gold circle seen\u00a0on the back and front of the brooch may be a hair locket for the baby’s first hair.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I would conclude that the brooch is a best wishes message for the baby’s future, possibly from a Catholic family.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An extraordinary novelty brooch that was made circa 1880-1900. It is composed of a real sea shell with a snake inside set with rose diamonds and a real natural pearl and has 18ct gold fittings. It appears to be\u00a0 ‘Snake Pearl.’ In essence, it’s a play on words on each of the elements, the snake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":952937,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_cat":[],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"1":"product","6":"type-antique-brooches","7":"type-antique-curiosities","8":"period-victorian","9":"ollys-picks-all","10":"material-diamond","11":"material-gold","12":"material-metals","13":"material-pearl","14":"material-precious-stones","15":"material-shell","16":"material-silver","17":"collection-bertie-presents","18":"collection-christmas-gifts","19":"collection-conversation-starters","20":"gold-carat-18-carat-gold","22":"first","23":"instock","24":"shipping-taxable","25":"purchasable","26":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/952936"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/952937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=952936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=952936"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=952936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}