This necklace showcases a stunning hand-carved mother-of-pearl button created in a family workshop in the holy city of Bethlehem.
Christian Palestinian artisans in Bethlehem have manufactured mother-of-pearl artifacts since the 17th-century. Vatican vaults contain many boxes of their work, some three centuries old.
Their trade first garnered notoriety in the west at the New York World Fair in 1852 when two Palestinian brothers, Giries and Ibrahim Mansur, exhibited their work.
Their craft developed notably in the 19th and 20th centuries and continues to be carried out in local workshops by artisans still using traditional processes.
Susan owns several antique Bethlehem pearl buttons in her personal collection, and was thrilled to find a family still creating them!
READ MORE > Beautiful Bethlehem Pearls, Buttonology Blog.
In this piece:
- Mother-of-pearl bird hand-carved in Bethlehem in a small family workshop using centuries-old processes
- Silver-plated pewter setting cast today in the USA
- Two tiny glass pearl beads
- Silver-plated brass chain
- Length is 18” with a 4” extender
Shop the collection: Family Editions
Shop the collection: Necklaces
