DATE: Victorian, c.1860

A cool antique coral amulet dating from the mid Victorian period. The red coral is set into a chased silver cap enabling wear as a pendant, and it twists and kinks gently down its length. It was made - likely in Italy - in the 1860s, likely taken back to England by a Grand Tourer. 

The cornicello (aka cornetto or corno portafortuna, literally "horn that brings luck") is an important Italian amulet or talisman, worn against the evil eye (or just general bad luck), and to promote fertility and vitality. The evil eye is believed to particularly affect the forces of procreation - specifically nursing mothers, bearing fruit trees, milking animals, and the sperm of men. As well as being worn as necklaces, they're often found hung from rearview mirrors of cars, based on the older custom of using them to protect draft horses. There is, naturally, an additional link to the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean... it's sibling, the cornucopia (horn of plenty), was a potent fertility symbol representing the fruits of the earth. The mythology describes horn that Zeus broke from a goat's head before filling it with flowers and fruit as a gift to his caretaker. Coral was sacred to Venus, goddess of love, fertility, sex, and prosperity, and silver is sacred to Luna, goddess of the moon.

STONES 

Red coral

MEASUREMENTS 

Length: 5.8cm

Width of coral: 6mm

WEIGHT 

5.0g

MARKS 

No marks present, tests a silver (the jump ring is gilt metal)

CONDITION 

Very good