Locket and Chain
Tortoiseshell was a popular material with American jewelry and comb manufacturers throughout the nineteenth century. The most commonly used material came from the hawksbill sea turtle and was imported to the United States from China and the West Indies. A process for manufacturing tortoiseshell jewelry was recorded in Horace Greeley’s "Great Industries of the United States", published in 1872, on page 386: "This material is first soaked for forty-eight hours in warm water, and then shaved, cut into pieces, which are joined together until the requisite thickness is obtained, and then carved by hand or inlaid with gold."
Artwork Details
- Title: Locket and Chain
- Date: ca. 1870
- Medium: Tortoiseshell
- Dimensions: Chain and hook: L. 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm)
Locket: 1 11/16 x 2 3/8 in. (4.3 x 6 cm) - Credit Line: Purchase, Susan and Jon Rotenstreich Gift, 2000
- Object Number: 2000.559a, b
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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