Earrings

The end of the Franco-Prussian war, in 1871, plunged France into depression. The devastation caused by the Paris Commune, the heavy reparations demanded by Prussia, and the loss of almost 15,000 square kilometres of territory, including Alsace and Lorraine, made the resumption of normal jewellery production seem frivolous. Instead many silversmiths turned their hands to patriotic jewellery.

These earrings mourn the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. The two shields bear the coats of arms of the two regions, surrounded by the chains which now confined them, with the terrible dates hanging below. Contemporary reports also add ivy leaves (for remembrance) and forget-me-nots, but it is not clear what the flowers on these earrings represent. They were put on show at the International Exhibition in London in 1872 by the French Commissioners, where they were bought by the Museum for nine shillings (the pair).