Open at the bottom, the bases of these Etruscan clasps are made from two rectangular gold plaques. Two pairs of crouching sphinxes, made in the round from sheet gold, sit on shallow boxes with ribbed side walls.

This Etruscan ornament consists of an oval box setting and two winged heads of portrait heads with African headdresses in repoussé relief and 

A baule or

A baule or

A baule or

Although ear studs were apparently less common than a bauletto earrings [1991.75.13.a-b], pictorial representations in

Although ear studs were apparently less common than a bauletto earrings [1991.75.13.a-b], pictorial representations indicate that they were popular in Et

In the second half of the 19th century, American silver manufacturers became regarded as among the best in the world. This marked a surprising shift in international recognition, as most American silverware produced before the 1840s was made in small shops for a local market, usually imitating fashionable European styles. 

Billheads and advertising cards of the William Gale, Sr. firm indicate that it was established in 1821 and was for a while perhaps the largest silverware manufacturer in the country. Evidence suggests that William Gale, Sr. (1799-1864), was related to silversmiths Jesse and John L. Gale, listed in the early nineteenth-century New York City directories.