Spectacular Kenneth Lane Festoon Egyptian Revival Necklace

Jewelry : Vintage : Necklaces : Kenneth Lane, Beads, Charms, Pendant

 

In 1920 King Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered, which was a major archeological find, and also had a great influence upon fashion. There were two major time periods when the Egyptian revival was very popular. Obviously, upon the finding of King Tut’s tomb, the first revival period occurred, in the 1920’s. In the 1970’s the treasures found in that tomb were brought to the United States to be exhibited, which influenced a second Egyptian revival period in jewelry

The necklace we have in our store is a part of this 1970s Egyptian jewelry revival collection. Kenneth Lane designed it as the cartouche on the back of the necklace signifies. Kenneth Lane, who is well known for his over the top jewelry for the famous, is also one of the major designers of revival Egyptian jewelry. This Egyptian revival necklace is no exception to this love of larger than life jewelry. The gold tone necklace is heavy, which says something about the materials used in its making. Three dimensional figures used make fabulous necklaces on their own, along with the use of large chains.

The necklace has a fold over clasp. Two large link chains drop from the clasp. Three quarters of the way down the chains is what appears to be bars of gold. An emerald green bead is bezel set at the top and bottom of the bar. The center of the bar is indented. At the center of the indentation on one side is a charm depicting an entombed mummy. On the other side of the necklace is the same indentation with a bezel set green bead on top and bottom; here at the center is a charm depicting a face with an Egyptian headdress. Both charms are in a silver tone metal making them very prominent when set on the gold tone metal. Three chains, that create the festoon shape of this necklace are connected to the bottom of the bars on each side and attach to a circular pendant. The gold tone circular pendant looks like as if it were hammered, to create a design. The outer border has ten bezel set emerald green beads that accent the round border of the disc. In the center of the disc is a round indentation; at the center is a large three dimensional charm depicting what I suspect is the head of King Tut in full headdress. This is also in silver tone metal, making quite a focal point.

The necklace measures 24” long. The pendant is 2 1/2”. The bars are 2 1/2” in length and 1” in width. Kenneth Lane is known to gold plate his pieces; there is no marking on this to tell me what the finish is. This is a sensational necklace, as only Kenneth Lane could design.

Item ID: lim 460