Made in 1993. Many collectors of
Denise Wallace jewelry will be familiar with earrings in this design
that Denise made as part of her "Gallery" or "Fabri-cast" Line while
working in Santa Fe. Those earrings have cast elements and are just
under one inch tall; you can see the much more squared-of look to the
bezels:
The pair of Ivory Face Earrings offered here are
obviously similar in design but are slightly larger, which allows the
details in the faces to be a bit more expressive. They were sold only at
the dw Studio on Early Street and so are quite rare. Worn as clip-ons, these are stunning earrings
that really stand out. The story of the Male/Female masks is well-known;
here it is again:
From Denise: "Many people ask the reason for the facial
expressions on the male and female faces. There seem to be many
different stories behind this, but the one I am going to tell you comes
from my friend Chuna McIntyre. This is a short version of the story:
"At one time there was a brother and a sister. The brother flew up to
the sky and turned into the sun. His sister flew up crying, and turned
into the moon. Hence, the reason for the upturned mouth on the male
faces, and the down-turned mouth on the female faces.""