Antique Javanese Tusuk Konde Quivering Hair Pins: Silver Tone Flowers (Set of 2)

These hair pins are adorned with nine hard silver tone petalled flowers and multiple metallic leaves attached to intricately wrapped wire work allowing them to ‘quiver’ with the slightest movement.
 
A note that came with them said they were Balinese dancer hair pins, presumably purchased in 1935 by our grandmother or the Burr sisters on their world tour. However, the Balinese have traditionally used large flower arrangements as hair ornaments. We believe that these are in fact Javanese traditional ‘tusuk konde’ quivering hair pins, their delicate, moving attachments known as ‘tremblers’ creating a shimmering effect as the wearer moves. These are built with small decorative elements attached to a spring mechanism or delicate wires. As are our collection.
 
This silver tone floral cluster does appear to need a careful cleaning or polishing as the flowers appear oddly tarnished with white marks. It is possible someone tried to polish the petals and leaves and did not wipe away the excess polish. It is also possible they were originally painted white, most of which has flaked off over the decades.
 
These are very fragile and may not last long if worn as intended. We can think of many other ways they could be used as décor pieces…
 
Each is approximately H 10” x L 4 1/2” x W 2” but the wires can be manipulated into different dimensions. The metal pins are 6 1/2” long. They tested negative for silver on a home acid test.
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.