DATE: Victorian, c.1860

An outrageous mid Victorian snake bangle dating from the 1860s. Serpent themed jewellery has always been popular, however in throughout the Victorian period demand skyrocketed. It seems to have inspired some sort of bizarre competition among English jewellers to see who could produce the weirdest/silliest snakey face... and this is one of the best I've seen. From its pear cabochon turquoise "brain" and double looped tail, to its goofy mouth and double bump snout, it's a particularly fine (and playful) rendering. Crafted in 15 karat gold with a clever double-hinged opening mechanism, it has ruby eyes and a pavé turquoise head. While not exactly eating the end of its tail, as the usual ouroboroi do, I think given that it's chomping down on one of the tail loops we can pretty much say it's a tail devourer.

STONES 

Turquoise & Ruby

MEASUREMENTS 

Inner circumference: 6.5 inches

Width of band: 7.5mm

Head: 3.5 x 1.4cm

WEIGHT 

29.2g

MARKS 

No marks present, tests as 15k gold

CONDITION 

Very good, with fine antique patina