Antique Carved Mother of Pearl Dogbone Necklace

This necklace took me entirely by surprise. I have never seen this carved dogbone shape made of anything but coral, and finding a mother of pearl version was a real treat! Warm, luminous mother of pearl beads nestle together to create an ethereal but substantial version of one of my favorite kinds of necklaces, a really wonderful take on a classic Victorian style. Because I have never seen another like it, and it was restrung on modern materials when I got it, it is hard to pinpoint an exact date, but the beads certainly predate machine cutting and mass production. I believe they likely date to the end of the 19th century or the first 2 decades of the 20th century. This necklace came to me with its beads out of order, strung on modern steel beading cord, requiring me to measure each bead and reorganize them into their proper graduated order. Necklace is in excellent condition and professionally restrung on hand-dyed silk, with a vintage 14k gold lobster clasp. Necklace measures 16" long.