A diamond brooch, circa 1950

Feathers have been a common motif in many cultures and they often are seen to symbolise freedom and hope. The brooch is cased by the renowned jewellers Hunt & Roskell who were Royal Warrant holders under Queen Victoria and exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1851. The brooch recreates the style of the Georgian-era feather brooches when ostrich feathers became fashionable adornments in hairstyles, brooches soon replaced them contributing to the flamboyant hairstyles of the period.