This cowbell charm features a tiny picture of the Biarritz Municipal Casino, delicately hand painted on enamel. Biarritz, a coastal town in Southern France, has been long known for its healing waters. The casino depicted in the painting is an Art Deco building that still stands today. In the painting, tiny tourists stroll the casino’s plaza, some of them stopping to admire the building that stands before them. A pink sunset fills the sky above the casino and seabirds fly overhead. The bell still works and makes a soft jingling sound when it moves.
The back of the charm is engraved with the initials “MDM” and the numbers 22-X-14, suggesting that this charm is from 1914. A small rectangle at the bottom of the bell is the French maker’s mark for sterling silver. The enamel on the lower left hand side is slightly chipped, which is appropriate wear for the age of the piece and doesn’t distract from its overall beauty.
The charm weighs 3.6 grams. It is 5/8” x 3/4”, not including the bail, which is 6.1 mm.
