Collect: Brooch

Brooch
Probably Riker Brothers, manufacturing jewelers (1892-1940)
Newark, New Jersey, 1890-1900
Gold, pearl, amethyst or garnet
Bequest of Dorothy S. F. M. Codman

The Riker Brothers firm of Newark, New Jersey, produced many versions of these striking gold brooches. A mythical beast, the basilisk was half eagle, half snake. Curled around a sword studded with pearls, it made an imposing ornament.