American
Pendant with Four Leaf Clover, about 1899
Crystal and silver, clover , 4.9 x 3.3 cm (1 15/16 x 1 5/16 in.)
General admission for children 17 years and under is always free
This octagonal, clear crystal pendant envelopes a shriveled yellowed four leaf clover. The edges of the pendant are decorated with a silver rope design. Around this, there is silver detailing looping in wave-like movements around the piece. Three larger loops are on both the top and bottom of the pendant.
Little Salon
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner presided over the construction of her museum between 1899 and 1901. According to her first biographer, Morris Carter, she discovered this four-leaf clover at the groundbreaking and took it as a good omen. Claiming that it was “the only 4 leafed clover I ever found,” she placed it in this crystal and silver filigree case for safekeeping and displayed it in the museum’s Little Salon.