This butterfly necklace is a copy of a piece in the Smithsonian. It was reproduced for their gift shop by the Alva Museum Collection. The butterfly is the Taoist symbol of rebirth and immortality.
The butterfly measures 3 inches side to side by just over 1.5 inches top to bottom. It is gold plated. It has a link chain that measures about 20 inches. The chain has a spring clasp closure.
It is marked on the back. It looks like there are 3 lines of writing, but I can only see the first two lines. It says "SI" on the first line, "Alva" on the second line, and the third line is unreadable due to the finish being applied unevenly in that spot.
I purchased it at an estate sale. The seller said she purchased it at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. She said she made two trips to Washington in the 1980s and believes this necklace is from the 1984 trip.
The piece, along with the chain, is in excellent condition with no scratches, rust, or discoloration.
Buyer to pay USPS First Class Mail Package delivery charges of $5.25. Delivery is from Nevada.
SHIPPING COST INFO:
I do combine shipping on multiple items purchased as long as all items will safely fit into a single box. However, my web host is not set up to calculate multiple item shipping costs. At checkout, you will be charged full shipping price on each item purchased and I will refund the appropriate amount of overpayment. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can send me an email with your zip code and stating which items you'll be purchasing and I'll calculate the correct combined shipping charges and send you a custom invoice.
Also, every January the postal service increases shipping charges. This year, many price increases were a bit steep with some package categories adding as much as a dollar on to an already high shipping charge. I try to absorb some of the new charges but that's getting harder with each increase.
International shipping charges also took a tremendous leap. International shipping will now depend on the country. Buyer must contact seller for international shipping charges before making a purchase. Seller reserves the right to void any international transactions where contact has not been made prior to purchasing.
All items in my listings come from either estate or garage sales. I do not know if they came from homes where smoking or pets were present. All items are sold in the same condition as when I received them.
