Hi Michelle,

Here's my best guess: martens. During the 20th C. ladies wore a nice suit
with a set of martens around their shoulders. They were clipped nose to butt
around the body. 

Martens have a long and distinguished history in fashion history. During the
Renaissance, people didn't know how they mated and thought they did it
without sex (and possibly through their ear) and so they became a symbol of
the Virgin birth. 

The Renaissance-era furriers did whatever they had to do to preserver the
skin, replaced the head and little feet with gold/ enameled/jeweled
replacement parts and were worn over the arm of a woman. The portrait of
Countess Livia da Porto in the Walters Gallery in Baltimore shows one.
Because of the fertility reference historians have speculated she might have
been pregnant when the painting was done-- plus she had two children
already, the daughter Porzia is pictured with her mom. Her husband and son
are in another painting.

Monica 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On
> Behalf Of Michelle Plumb
> Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2010 12:31 PM
> To: h-cost...@indra.com
> Subject: [h-cost] Need help identifying furs
> 
> Hello, all.
> 
> I was given two fur pieces (to be worn around the neck, I assume), and  
> would like some help identifying them and to find out approximately what  
> they're worth.
> 
> I don't personally wear fur, but it seems a shame to waste them if someone

> could use them for a costume.
> 
> I put pictures of them in my Flickr page:
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/24767...@n06/sets/72157625297457400/
> 
> Any help would be appreciated!
> Thanks,
> Michelle
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