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Dragon Foo Dog Shakudo Earrings Samurai Warrior Japan 14 Karat Gold Victorian

About the Item

This is a very rare pair of Antique Shakudo Earrings from Japan depicting a Foo Dog or Dragon battling a Dragon. The extraordinary imagery is full of history, drama and mystique. The Dragons and Foo Dogs are absolutely wonderful with superb dramatic imagery and extraordinary details. The earrings are pieces of the historic Japanese art form of Shakudo which are made of mixed metals including 14 Karat Gold, Silver and Bronze. The earring hooks are 14 Karat Gold. The Shakudo pieces originated in the Samurai period in Japan and were created by esteemed artists who made ornaments to adorn swords and armor. When the Samurai period ended, these artists moved to making wearable art during the period of the 1870s - 1900. Shakudo is a technique that developed with the Japanese from their tradition of sword making. Sword fittings and shields were highly decorative with the magnificent inlays of alloys of gold and copper. After the wearing of swords was prohibited in 1877, Japanese jewelry artisans transferred their skills to jewelry making. The charm and asymmetry of the designs, often of trees and birds and flowers, attracted the attention of the Western world which was ready to move beyond the symmetry of neoclassicism. During the later part of the 19th century Shakudo (gold and copper) and its counterpart, shibuichi (silver and copper) were immensely popular in the Western market. Here we have a very rare pair of Shakudo earrings. Shakudo pieces from the Victorian period are characterized by a beautiful grace of proportion and by their meticulous design. The Shakudo earrings measure 2 inches (45mm) long from the top of the shepherd hooks. Without the hooks the earrings are 1 3/4 inches long and are 15 mm wide. The hooks are 14 Karat Gold. Together the earrings weigh 12.7 grams.
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