Ornate Sterling Magnifying Quizzing Glass

Have you ever heard of a quizzing glass?  Quizzing glasses are not monocles, lorgnettes and or eyeglasses but belong in a category on their own.  Eyeglasses as we know them (two lenses with arms that fit the ears) did not come into existence until the early 1700s.  Before then people relied on armless spectacles balanced on the tip of the nose or they used quizzing glasses.  A quizzing glass is a magnified lens placed on a single arm or handle.  These lenses have been used for centuries but really came into the fashion realm in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Often times the user would wear the quizzing glass around the neck via a silk ribbon or chain.  The wearer would raise up the glass to quiz or inspect an object.  

This quizzing glass dates to the early 1900s.  It is fashioned out of sterling silver and has beautiful floral detailing around the frame of the glass and handle.  This quizzing glass comes with a delicate sterling chain.