Silver Venetian - Earrings
Almost forgot about these!
I had bought them on eBay for less than $4 and tucked them away in my jewelry box so they wouldn't be buried under the mountains of paper and fabric that have taken over my desk. I actually hemmed and hawed over buying them for about a month, telling myself that I hadn't seen an actual pair like them, either in portraits or extant, and that something better would come along. At the end though, I couldn't beat the price and had to have them.
They're a little under 1.25 inches long with somewhat crooked leverbacks, a matte antique gold finish, and crystal rhonestones. I make no excuses for them being cheap, but the settings were too ornate for me to pass up.
Most of the earrings I've seen depicted are peal drops or gold hoops with pearls and stones. Keeping that in mind, these seem period-esque to me in a way that doesn't scream 'modern costume jewelry!' too loudly.