** FIRM ON SALE PRICE **

EARRING PROVENANCE:

These extremely old earrings originally were once housed in Federico's Oaxaca museum, (see link below) where he holds a vast amount of historical Mexican pieces (with the focus on his birthplace of Oaxaca). that he has proudly collected for decades now. At the museum, he displays a long historical line of hand woven Tehuantepec Oaxaca & Chiapas textiles, to pottery to jewelry & everything in between.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MUSEUM:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150801-d10078011-Reviews-Museo_Belber_Jimenez-Oaxaca_Southern_Mexico.html

THE GUSANO EARRING DESIGN:

This style of earring is called the "Gusano", which translates to "Worm or Caterpillar" in English & refers to the curved shape that the worm makes when it's moving along.. Oaxaca has 5 most traditional designs & the Gusano is one of them and date all the way back to the 1800s. The Gusano always lay in a vertical rectangular form.

THE EARRINGS

These are another pair of Oaxaca Gusanos that I have in stock that are made in the late 1800's-early Turn of the Century" era timeline. With these, it's not that they're just extremely old that makes them unique from the rest, but it's for the fact that you just don't come across Gusanos or many other pieces of Oaxaca jewelry with this "Back to Front" ear wire.. And it's actually this type of ear wire that validates their age, which was very common to see way back then..(See photos) When I 1st started collecting these extremely old earrings from Federico, I actually thought it would be odd to put the ear wire on this way & possibly much more difficult than one would imagine, but actually found it to be quite easy! But remember, each person will be different, so while some will find it very easy, it may take others a bit more time to get the hang of it.

Sitting in the 14k "Diamond Cut" gold base,(For sparkle) is a 4 circular drop that is colorfully accented with ruby colored crystals (possibly glass) that are surrounded by what was original, tiny, tiny gray colored seed pearls. I do want to mention, that it wasn't till after I photographed these that I happened to notice that there are also white pearls that were obviously added at a later date. My guess is because the pearls are 'sewn' into the base & because of their age, what was used to sew the pearls into the base, more than likely weakened over time. A 2 pearl dangle finalizes the design.

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ARTIST: Unknown

EARRING PROVENACE: From Federico's Oaxaca Museum Collection

CIRCA: Late 1800's- Early turn of the century.

METAL: 14K Yellow Gold-(Professionally tested 2 x's to be 14K)

MATERIAL: Naturally formed Gray & White Pearls-Ruby Color Crystals(or glass?)

MEASUREMENTS: 2" x 3/8" (From the curvature of the ear wire to bottom dangle)

COMBINED WEIGHT: 7.6 Grams

CLOSURE: "Back to Front" Ear Wire

MADE IN: Oaxaca ,Mexico

CONDITION: USED-Pearls are secured with wire. Some pearls sit lower in base than others. Ear Wire in Original shape.

Comes Gift Boxed.

***Please go through all provided photos before purchasing. All vintage sold "As Is". If there's any defects, they will be mentioned in the listing. These will be sent in working/wearable condition & I exclude myself from responsibility if anything was to happen, whether 2 weeks from now or 2 years from now. ***

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SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT:

Anything with a high price tag, will have a mandatory signature confirmation requirement & will come insured..(This is dictated in the shipping price) If you're not home in the day & need them shipped where they can be signed for,please change that in your "Ship To" section before I create the shipping label.. I'm sorry if this may be an inconvenience, but I do not ship expensive pieces without one. This is for your safety & mine.

PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING:
*****I do not consider myself a 'professional photographer" but I do try my hardest to give you photos that are 'realistic" in color as much as I can. Playing a role in the items color, is the fact that each monitor varies and can make something appear to look more vibrant or less vibrant,depending on your monitor. If you need more photos, in different areas of lighting, please let me know! ****

To give you close up photos,pictures tend to make the item look much more larger & everything is more magnified than in actuality. So to get an accurate idea of how big these are,please either check them out being worn to get a rough idea (photo 2 & 12) or you can pull out a tape measure & compare to my given measurements above.