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This pair of earrings is made from two small tiger claws set in gold mounts. Each gold mount is a wide cap set at the top of the claw, delicately chased with floral designs. The mount is held in place with a set of prongs extending from a tab along the front edge of each claw. The claws are suspended from ear wires with a pair of delicate gold cable chains attached to the gold mounts. A gold tri-lobed floral element covers the join where the chains meet the ear wires. The earrings are part of a parure that consists of a necklace, bracelet, and a brooch.
earrings (jewelry)
parures
gold (metal)
keratin
souvenirs
Set, Jewelry
This set of tiger claw jewelry was purchased in Bombay (now called Mumbai), India, in 1875, as a gift for the popular Cambridge, Massachusetts, author Georgina Lowell Putnam. Indian-made sets of tiger claw jewelry were quite fashionable as hunting trophies and tourist souvenirs in the nineteenth century.
928
Unknown
Bombay, India, Asia
7/8 (W) (inches)
Gift of Miss Louisa M. Dewey
1928.150AB
1875 (When this set was made in 1875 the city of origin was called "Bombay." Today it is called "Mumbai.")
Maha¯ra¯shtra (India)
Bombay (Salsette Island, Maha¯ra¯shtra, India)
Title Tiger Claw Necklace Accession Number 1928.147
Title Tiger Claw Bracelet Accession Number 1928.148
Title Tiger Claw Brooch Accession Number 1928.149
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