Baroque Pearl Drop Earrings from The Met Museum

Beginning in the 16th century, expanding global trade routes made pearls an available luxury for many. The elite lavishly adorned themselves with pearls as symbols of status, taste, and wealth; irregular baroque pearls were particularly coveted. Our elegant earrings honor the lustrous pearl jewelry depicted in European paintings throughout The Met collection, such as Portrait of a Woman (ca. 1670s) by Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baciccio) (Italian, 1639-1709), Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan (1633) by Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), and Massimo Stanzione’s (Italian, 1585-1656) Judith with the Head of Holofernes (ca. 1640).