Rare Victorian 'Essex crystal' reverse painted intaglio of a wasp c.1870.
Insects work so well in Essex crystals, being carved to the back of the rock crystal cabochon, the insect seems to be frozen in time much in the way Cretaceous insects were preserved in amber.
Bees and spiders I have seen a few times but this is my first wasp.
'Essex crystals' as they are commonly known(a misnomer relating to William Essex,noted painted in enamels at the same time) in fact originated in Belgium in the 1860s attributed to an artist named Emile Marius Pradier.
Set to a gold brooch marked 18carat,all original with pendant option.
2cms diameter.