Art Nouveau Fossilized Walrus Ivory Drop Earrings
Width 5/8"" x Height 1 3/4"" (approx)
The art nouveau period, which inspired this graceful pair of layered art nouveau earrings, emphasizes softened, natural lines taken from nature’s timeless patterns.
Fossilized walrus ivory top stone
Sterling silver details and setting
Sterling silver ear wires
Designer: Jenny Byrne
Color Variation
Colors will vary as each beautiful piece of ancient ivory is uniquely tinted by earthen minerals.
Art Nouveau Jewelry – Fossilized Walrus Ivory Art Nouveau Earrings
The art nouveau period from about 1890 to the early 1910’s was a brief but glorious time of natural celebration, and it has inspired the shapes in this beautiful pair of art nouveau earrings. The art nouveau period took the natural organic world and a geometric sensibility as its fulcrum for transforming the then outdated style, which was based on historical influences. Art nouveau was fresh and free of the heavy ornamentalism that had dominated the arts previously.
Another revolutionary concept of the art nouveau period is it rejected the notion that certain arts—silversmithing, for example—were inferior to the fine arts. Virtually no art or craft escaped its influence, and all were elevated to this new graceful form. Our art nouveau earrings celebrate the period’s silversmiths and their work during the art nouveau period.
This piece of art nouveau jewelry is made with layered sterling silver for a structured look, and with fossilized walrus ivory that is some 500 to 3,000 years old. Our fossilized walrus ivory is collected by the native Yupik of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, where only they may gather this valued economic and cultural resource. The Yupik use the fossilized ivory in carvings and for sale/trade. This material is prized worldwide for its quality, and for the natural cream to caramel and cocoa hues it takes on after lying in the earth for centuries.
