A rare pair of 'Coque de Perle' earrings, circa 1760,

A rare pair of 'Coque de Perle' earrings, circa 1760, each of girandole design, composed of 'coque de perles' in gold settings, length 6.6cm each, hook and clip fittings

'Coque de Perle' is the term given to filled composites of mother of pearl, consisting of a curved outer section taken from a spiral shell, backed with a flat section of mother of pearl and filled for stability and weight, designed to imitate large natural pearls. These rare earrings take the form of the girandole, a popular 18th century earring shape, which suspends three pendants.
Cf.: a pair of similar 'coque de perle' earrings in the collection of the MFA Boston, originally in the collection of Elizabeth Day-McCormick, accession no. 43.2122a-b