We have traveled a lot. Being artists, we accumulate things everywhere we go. This may be for our own personal collection, or interesting objects that we want to incorporate into our own art. Such is the case with these earrings. They are constructed of very old objects that come from China, and Tibet.

The ivory beads come from China. They have been in our possession for over 40 years. We acquired them from the estate of a woman in New York. Her mother had brought them back from China around 1900-1910. They are very old and show the mellow patina of age.

The wooden trumpet shapes were acquired in Mexico City, when we lived there in the mid 1960s. City. They are made of Kapok wood and come from Tibet. Yes, there is a sizable Chinese and Tibetan community in Mexico The objects are actually salvaged parts from a damaged antique musical instrument. The instrument had been in a Tibetan friend’s family for generations. It was irreparably damaged in a car accident and subsequently given to us so that the spirit of the object would find a new life.

The ebony was given to us in 1974 by a couple of eighty year-old spinster sisters in Omaha, Nebraska. It was part of a Chinese hair ornament that they were given while doing missionary work there. The ornament had become damaged by the passage of time and they thought we might find use for it.

So as you can see, this pair of earrings has a history. We have been the temporary caretakers of the objects on their travel through time and space. Perhaps you would like to write the next chapter of their history.

2.5 inches long
Old Chinese Ivory, Ebony, Tibetan Kapok Wood, Sterling Silver