Miller. Highly detailed Luckenbooth With Stag head on Locket Front with ornately designed Thistle Bale.<p>
Measures 1-3/4" in Height and weifhx 28.34 grams.<p>
The Luckenbooth is a traditional Scottish wedding brooch given to the bride
by the groom on their wedding day, and subsequently pinned to the shawl of the
first baby to protect it from "evil spirits".<p>
The brooch was also created with the power of easing child birth and insuring
a good flow of breast milk when pinned to the undergarments near the left
thigh. When pinned to a baby's shawl, the brooch served as insurance against the
child being whisked away by the "wee folk"and replaced with a changeling or a
stack of wood.<p>
The Luckenbooth has figures very similar to the Claddagh Ring , and a similar
purpose of being a love token. The luckenbooth charm also continues the
traditional theme of heart and crown. The earliest records of heart shaped brooches
in Scotland date back to 1503. In the 18th Century, these brooches were often
known as 'Luckenbooth' brooches because they were sold from locked booths in
the jewellery quarter of St. Giles, Edinburgh. Victorian Luckenbooths were
generally set with garnets. Garnets were thought to have a lucky influence on
affairs of the heart and symbolized a lover's constancy as well as being an
emblem of deep friendship.<p>
By the mid 18th century luckenbooth tokens also featured heavily as English
trade silver items to the native peoples of the eastern woodlands, particularly
the Iroquois of the Six Nations. As a result, luckenbooth brooches also
became a common decorative symbol in 18th and early 19th century native costume.
