Meiji Japanese Mixed Metal Watch Fob Heart Locket
$425
A delightful Japanese silver and patinated steel short watch fob suspending a heart shaped locket decorated with gold and silver shakudo style inlay. One side of the locket is decorated with a beautifully worked iris and foliage, while the other side has a pair of inlaid swallows. The interior is engraved, either with the maker’s name or with an affectionate inscription. This is a most unusual adaptation of the Western imagery of the heart as a love token with the late 19th century Japanese aesthetic.
A delightful Japanese silver and patinated steel short watch fob suspending a heart shaped locket decorated with gold and silver shakudo style inlay. One side of the locket is decorated with a beautifully worked iris and foliage, while the other side has a pair of inlaid swallows. The interior is engraved, either with the maker’s name or with an affectionate inscription. This is a most unusual adaptation of the Western imagery of the heart as a love token with the late 19th century Japanese aesthetic.
Origin: Japan, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, all original, patination intact. Size: overall, 5-5/8” long; heart, 11/16” x 21/32”. Weight: 17.5 grams.