MEDUSA IS best known for having hair made of snakes and for her ability to turn anyone she looked at to stone - literally to petrify. She was a protective figure in ancient Rome. Her face was emblazoned on armor and mosaics to scare off threats. But in the Victorian period, she represented the ultimate terror: uncontrolled female sexuality, rage, and potential to subvert the patriarchy. The snakes in her hair here are subtle but undeniable; wild shapes stand in for fangs and scales. The woman who wore these probably felt a kinship to the pissed-off goddess but didn't want to be too obvious about it.
MATERIALS: 18k gold (tests), carved shell cameos, carved Whitby jet
AGE: c. 1850
CONDITION: Excellent
SIZE: 2 5/8" length measured from the top of the ear wire, 7/8" at the widest point