Victorian Bog Oak & Pressed Horn Jewelry

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Victorian Bog Oak & Pressed Horn Jewelry

During part of the Victorian period from about
1860 to 1890, this jewelry was the height of fashion and black was a stylish
color, not just an ornament of mourning. Made of jet, vulcanite, bog oak or pressed horn, each carried special
meaning as a memento of a loved one. A brooch in the shape of a hand
carrying a bouquet conveyed a message symbolized by the flowers. Photos
might be housed inside lockets and watch fobs, and portraits hand painted on
pendants and earrings. While some black jewelry was meant to be worn
during mourning, black jewelry was fashionable as well, and worn for its
beauty and sentiment.

VICTORIAN bog oak and
gold brooch with carved shamrocks, a very early and unusual piece, early
1800s, 1-1/2". View #V29953

VICTORIAN painted
gypsy boy brooch set in black pressed horn brooch, 1-1/2".
View #V31811

VICTORIAN bog oak round pierced brooch with the rose for England,
shamrock for Ireland and thistle for Scotland, 1-1/2". BOG OAK is a
fossilized wood or peat found in Ireland.

View

View #V29890

VICTORIAN pressed horn bracelet, floral motif on front and side links,
elastic 3/4″ wide 1-5/8″ front oval, 6-1/4″ to 8″ wrist.
View #V26089

VICTORIAN pressed horn bracelet with round floral center and 9
square floral embossed side pieces, 6-1/2" by 1". This
is really beautiful and so easy to wear, being elastic strung links.

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View #V25883

VICTORIAN
pressed horn bracelet each piece patterned in diamond shapes, exp by 1" &
1-5/8". View
View #V25877

HORN is the natural horn of an animal, pressed into a mold to form jewelry.

BOG OAK is fossilized wood or peat found in Ireland. It is a
very dark brownish-black, and has a woody texture.

VICTORIAN horn wreath brooch, 2-1/3" by 1-3/4".
View #V29883

VICTORIAN lady wearing a pair
of jet earrings and a fern brooch. R. Riter & Co. Photographers, Bombay
& Poona, India.
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VICTORIAN bog oak large
fern brooch with gold accents, 2".
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View #V29956

VICTORIAN bog oak carved castle and ribbed links bracelet, made in the
1870s, 6-1/2" relaxed size by 1-1/3".

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View #V29458

VICTORIAN large bog oak
brooch, castle, 1-3/4".
View #V28875

VICTORIAN bog oak carved abbey scene brooch signed "Ross" on the back,
1-3/4". BOG OAK is fossilized wood or peat found in Ireland. This
same piece can be seen in Helen Muller’s book "Jet"
on page 122. This is the abbey that stands on a hill above the town of
Whitby, England.

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View #V29205

VICTORIAN bog oak
round pierced brooch showing a Gothic castle window scene, 2". BOG OAK
is a fossilized wood or peat found in Ireland. For a
similar brooch see page 29 in Helen Muller’s "Jet Jewellery and
Ornaments" and on page 139 of Bell’s "Collecting Victorian Jewelry".

View #V25881

VICTORIAN bog oak
brooch, carved abbey, 1-5/8".
View #V29954

VICTORIAN vulcanite harp
brooch with shamrocks, a very unusual copy of a bog oak piece, 1-7/8" by
1-1/2". View #V29963

VICTORIAN bog oak
brooch, shamrock center, 1-1/2".
View
View #V29955

VICTORIAN pressed horn bracelet with floral and geometric motif, 1-1/4" wide
and 6-1/2" strung on elastic.

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#V27902

VICTORIAN very unusual set of pressed horn
matching bracelets of embossed plaques strung on elastic, 6-1/2" by 7/8".
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View #V27794

VICTORIAN pressed horn bracelet, geometric motif, 7/8" by 6-1/2" strung
on elastic. #V27903

VICTORIAN bog oak carved
shamrocks bracelet, 7" by 1" to 2-1/4" wide.
View #V31328

VICTORIAN bog oak carved shamrocks bracelet, 7" by 1" to 2-1/4" wide.
A similar piece can be seen on page 130 of Bell’s "Collecting Victorian
Jewelry".
View #V31329

VICTORIAN bog oak bracelets,
unusual matched set. #V31328 and #V31329

VICTORIAN bog oak shamrock
shaped hand carved perpetual calendar with all it’s celluloid leaves, circa
1880, measures 3-1/2" by 3-1/4". The design is scrolls and shamrocks, typical
pf the era. BOG OAK is fossilized wood or peat
found in Ireland. View
#V35666

VICTORIAN rare Irish bog oak Police truncheon with carved Irish
harp and shamrocks design circa 1880s, it is 13-1/4" in length. This is
certainly heavy as it used to be a genuine Police truncheon and it is also
decorative enough to use for display. The shamrock is a symbol or Ireland,
and for some, it is also a symbol of St. Patrick, their holy saint, and
of the holy trinity. The harp, official emblem of Ireland, is the Trinity
College Harp. A web site regarding Irish symbols says that is a 15th century
Irish harp and is based on the Brian Boru or O’Neill harp.

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View #V31586

VICTORIAN bog oak hand
carved whist trump marker stand with harp and shamrocks designs, circa 1880,
measures 2-1/4" by 2-5/8". It has all it’s 5 celluloid leaves.
BOG OAK is fossilized wood or peat found in
Ireland. #V35665

VICTORIAN bog oak hand carved
abbey motif earrings, 1".
View #V29207

JET is the black
fossilized wood of a particular tree, the Monkey Puzzle tree, that grew millions of years ago. It is
particularly associated with the English town of Whitby where much of it was fashioned into
jewelry and accessories. While jet was made into jewelry throughout the
1800’s, it was especially fashionable between 1860 and 1890. Like amber, it
will pick up paper when static is created by rubbing it on wool or silk.

VULCANITE (also sometimes called "ebonite") was made by combining and
heating sap of the Euphorbia or Ficus trees from Malaysia with sulphur.
Invented in 1843 by Thomas Hancock, pieces made of vulcanite were almost always molded, not carved,
and it was used mainly in making jewelry.

HORN is the natural horn of an animal, pressed into a mold to form jewelry.

BOG OAK is fossilized wood or peat found in Ireland. It is a
very dark brownish-black, and has a woody texture.

FRENCH JET and CREPE STONE are black glass, and not truly jet at all. Like
all glass, they will be colder to the touch and heavier than jet or
vulcanite.

BOIS DURCI was invented by Francois Charles Lepag in 1856. It is a
composition of fine hardwood sawdust and blood which is pressed then highly
polished.

GUTTA PERCHA is the sap of the Dichopsis tree also found in Malaysia. Invented
by William Montgomerie in 1843, it was
used mainly in technical articles, e.g. driving belts, stoppers, tubs,
pails, cups, washing drums and cables. It was also used for household
purposes such as mouthpieces for whistles, sticks and riding whips. It was
very rarely used for jewelry.

Pieces like these, circa 1860-1890, can be seen in Helen Muller’s
book Jet and in Christie Romero’s Warman’s Jewelry,
Ed. 3 on pages 51 and 52.

VICTORIAN pressed horn
butterfly pin, 2". See page 121 of Helen Muller’s book
"Jet". View #V25282

VICTORIAN carte de visite of a lady wearing a bog oak brooch, a
double strand of jet beads from which a cross is suspended and earrings,
2-1/2" by 4". "W. Turner, 40 Albion Street, Leeds".
View
View #Vkph18

VICTORIAN oval horn bird brooch, very three dimensional, 2-1/8".
View #V26280

VICTORIAN pressed horn "tire
tread" segments strung on elastic bracelet, relaxed size 6-1/4" by 1".
#V31805

VICTORIAN horn bracelet, as
is with small flaw on one link, elastic is adjustable, best on a wrist of 5-1/2" to 6",
links are 3/4" wide. View
View #V31771

VICTORIAN bog oak segments
strung on elastic bracelet, relaxed size 6" by 5/8" wide.
#V31802

VICTORIAN pressed horn with
criss-cross designed links strung
on elastic bracelet, fits a smaller 6-6-1/2" wrist, 1" wide.
View #V29228

VICTORIAN black pressed horn
bracelet on elastic, 6" relaxed by 1-3/4".
View #V29952

VICTORIAN pressed horn matching flower bracelets, set of two, 7" by
5/8". #V28058

VICTORIAN double
strand of jet beads and an ivory cherub brooch worn by
Her Royal Highness, The Princess Louise,
Marchioness of Lorne (Louise Caroline Alberta, b. 3-18-1848, d. 12-3-1939).
She was the 4th of Queen Victoria’s daughters.

VICTORIAN bog oak rare and very old carved bead necklace, probably early
1800s, 36" long. It also has a box clasp. BOG OAK is fossilized wood or
peat found in Ireland. See this same necklace on page 122 of
Helen Muller’s book "Jet" and a similar one in Dawes &
Collings book "Georgian Jewellery, 1714-1830" page 167.

View #V29209

VICTORIAN lady wearing large hoop
skirt and jet bead long chain.

VICTORIAN pressed horn large
rectangular brooch, 2-1/2" by 1-3/4".
View
View #V29469

VICTORIAN pressed and pierced oval horn
brooch, 1-3/4". View #V28204

VICTORIAN
large pressed horn leaves and scrolls brooch, 2".
View #V29139

VICTORIAN pressed horn
flower brooch, 2".
View #V27210

VICTORIAN pressed horn
leaves and berries brooch, 1-1/2".
View #V27795

VICTORIAN bog oak domed brooch with paste shamrocks, 1-3/4".
View #V27660

VICTORIAN pressed horn
bow brooch with abalone insets, English registry mark for August 18, 1880 ,
2". View
View #V29227

VICTORIAN horn with inset mother-of-pearl
and gold metal bow pin, hallmarked on the back, 2".
View
#V28193

VICTORIAN
pressed horn bow brooch with tiny embossed flowers, 2".
View #V29133

VICTORIAN pressed horn pin
with bird and leaves design, 1-5/8".
View #V27242

VICTORIAN pressed horn
lily-of-the-valley brooch, 1-3/4".
View #V27377

VICTORIAN pressed
horn double horseshoe and blacksmiths nail pin, 1-3/4".
View #V28060

VICTORIAN unusual horn links
Prince Albert chain, 12". See page 121 of Helen Muller’s book "Jet".
View #V28868

"Jet" by Helen Muller

Helen Muller