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Directory: Antiques: Decorative Art: Jewelry: Pre 1920: Item # 1428092

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Moylan-Smelkinson/The Spare Room
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P.O. Box 4684
Baltimore, Maryland 21212
tel. 410-435-3738

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Fabulous emerald lizard form brooch! Comprised of of emerald green pastes and set in silver, this is a perfectly proportioned lizard with distinctive silver hands and toes. The lizard's red paste eyes are a perfect compliment to the green paste. Paste was a type of leaded glass formulated in the 18th century. Once it was discovered that glass could provide an inexpensive substitute for the color and brilliance of precious gemstones, its popularity surged and its use continued until the early 20th century. The formula was lost sometime after the Art Deco era. Paste jewelry continues to be much sought after today, and among colored paste, emerald paste is the most rare and most desirable. Each paste was individually carved by hand and is graduated in size to fit the contours of the lizard's trunk. The round hinges and safety catches that were emplyed on our lizard is another way of dating the piece to the early 1900's. The 935 hallmark which indicates the silver is slightly higher than sterling. The brooch is four inches long.