Venus buy with a Dove Brooch

This item is handmade by Beth Miller Hall and cast from a mold taken from an original in her collection. Any minor flaws are consistent with the original item.

Vulcanite was patented in the United States by Charles Goodyear in 1839 and a second harder version was patented by Nelson Goodyear (his brother) in 1851. It was also patented in England about the same time. Items made of vulcanite and gutta-percha were molded and therefore a large number of duplicate items could be produced in less time and with fewer individual craftsmen than it took to produce jewelry items from jet. This “mass production” allowed the price of vulcanite jewelry to become more affordable than “handmade” jet pieces. Many pieces of vulcanite items have survived since the 1800's and they have become highly collectible.

Most vulcanite jewelry items are made in two pieces: a back or base that can be either plain or have an ornate edge and the center medallion or focal point. The focal point is usually secured to the base with small pegs that do not go all the way through the base of the item. Sometimes there is also evidence of glue being used in addition to the pegs, but this may be from a later repair. The pin mechanism for a brooch is attached on the back of the base and the point of the pin stem usually extends past the edge of the brooch base.

Because vulcanite jewelry was made in two pieces, it is very common to find the same top or focal point being used on a variety of bases. There seems to be a number of very popular tops that show up very often and not only on brooches but other bases like cuff bracelets, combs and even belt buckles, This leads to speculation that vulcanite items could have been sold in sets.

This brooch is very typical of the Grecian and Roman mythology themes that were popular in the mid nineteenth century, particularly during the early Civil War. The image is of the goddess Venus with a dove on her shoulder. Venus is often seen with one or more birds.

In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty and fertility. Venus was very important to Rome in that she also represented victory, and watched over cultivated fields and gardens. She was married to the notoriously ugly buy Vulcan – the god of fire and forge. But he loved Venus so much that he created a golden carriage to pull her around that was drawn by doves to match Venus' own beauty.

Suitable for mid-Victorian impressions, including middle class, Steampunk and Cosplay participants.

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Thank you for your interest!