Dangerous Beauty

Antique Upper Arm Bangle in the Shape of a Snake, British, c. 1920


€ 1,790.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
Antique Upper Arm Bangle in the Shape of a Snake, British, c. 1920
Antique Upper Arm Bangle in the Shape of a Snake, British, c. 1920
Description
This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!
Self-determined female figures such as Medea, Salome or Circe, whose sensuality seemed threatening to men at the turn of the century, were one of the great themes of fin de siècle art and continued to fascinate the contemporaries right up until the interwar period. The many stage productions with their opulent costumes also brought some fashion trends into real life, in line with Oscar Wilde's credo "life imitates art". One of these fashions was the upper arm bangle. This fashion was probably set in motion by the international productions of Richard Strauss' Salome, based on Oscar Wilde's eponymous drama. Although the German version premiered in 1905, it was only retranslated into French until 1909 for the the international stage – where it found great favour and even caused scandals due to the revealing role of Salome! Salome was adorned as one would imagine an oriental princess of antiquity to be: with snake bangles on her arms. A photo of the soprano Aino Ackté as Salome from 1910 shows her with similar jewellery. The upper arm bracelet was therefore the jewellery of choice for the femme fatale of antiquity. Theda Bara wore it as Cleopatra in 1917. Brigitte Helm, the star of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, also wore large bracelets around her wrists and arms in the 1932 adventure film The Lady of Atlantis. Her entire body appears golden, as befits the ruler of the legendary ancient city. With this bracelet, the fashion-conscious lady of society could also present herself as a queen of antiquity. Two snakes are made of reddish gold and wrap themselves around the upper arm. Their eyes stand out vividly and their heads have been engraved by hand with scales. We discovered this beautiful piece in London, and the hallmarks indicate that it was made in Britain.
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Size & Details
Antique Upper Arm Bangle in the Shape of a Snake, British, c. 1920
Dangerous Beauty
€ 1,790.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
Our Promise
Our Promise
Our Promise

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You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

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