These earrings feature imagery from an antique cartographic cartouche, the decorative flourishes once used to frame titles, dedications, and legends on historic maps. Often adorned with allegorical figures, flowing drapery, and painterly scenes, these details transformed maps into objects of beauty as much as navigation.
The softly rendered figures here feel almost theatrical, suspended between mythology and geography, as if guarding the edges of an imagined world.
• 12.7mm Dulcet size
• 24k gold plated brass hooks
• Paper, resin, glass dome
This is a one-of-a-kind item. You will receive the item pictured here.
Collector’s Notes:
In 17th and 18th century mapmaking, cartouches were miniature works of art. Engravers used them to showcase status, storytelling, and symbolism, often including gods, muses, or personifications of land and sea. They remind us that maps were once treasures as much as tools.