Curio Pendant: Item No.2

This is part of my Curio Pendants collection, a line of jewelry inspired by the art of collecting, found objects, and the "curio cabinet" shelves that fascinated me as a child whenever I visited my older relatives. Some of you may have seen these around, old type trays or shadow boxes divided into lots of sections, various random objects filling the spaces in a beautiful symphony of clutter and chaos, creating relationships and begging for stories to be told of their origin, the wonder of their strange existence. Curio cabinets were highly popular in the Victorian era and carry a sense of the strange half-scientific romance the time period inspires in genres such as steampunk. (Examples of curio cabinets and wunderkammer: [link] - [link] - [link] - [link] - [link] )

Each pendant is a handmade miniature wooden box containing a found object from natural or man-made debris suspended in clear resin. The "item number" and date the item was "found" or collected is burned into the bottom side of the box. The person who wears this pendant is essentially carrying one part of a curio cabinet about with them.

I am working on a website which displays the entire curio cabinet at once, enabling owners of individual pendants to look up their item to learn more about when and where it was found, see photos of it from various angles or at the time and place it was collected, and perhaps to collect other little curiosities of the world.

These pendants are beautiful little conversation-pieces, fascinating to look at all on their own, and completely unique. No two pieces are alike!

I may show other Curio Pendants here on dA later after I've gotten some good photographs of them. This was the first one to be complete and the design has been fine-tuned in the others I've made since. Once properly photographed, they will be for sale!

Some already made: animal vertebrae, honeybee, bullet with 'LOVE' scratched into it, maple key, aspen bark, old iron nut, shredded american flag, rib bones, antique bottle caps, and other strange bits of debris...

Image and design © Kate N.Y.