DATE: Victorian, c.1870

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs were commissioned in 1852 under the direction of celebrated palaeontologist Sir Richard Owen, and were the first dinosaur sculptures in the world. Obviously they caused something of a sensation in Victorian society (people had only seen drawings of these giant lizardoids) and inspired works by Charles Dickens, HG Wells, and George Baxter amongst others. By today's scientific reasoning they're quite... inaccurate... but remarkably they're still there, and you can go see them.

Whether or not this antique cuff bangle was directly inspired by the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs we'll never know, but it was made in the latter half of the 19th Century, so the timing fits... and we've never seen another like it. The styling is excellent, featuring three Iguanadons amongst some megaflora flowers. It's crafted in silver and bears French assay marks.

MEASUREMENTS 

To fit wrist: 6 3/4 inches (17cm)

Width: 2.3cm

WEIGHT 

28.4g

MARKS 

French silver marks (boar's head)

CONDITION 

Good, some wear/rubbing consistent with age