DATE: Art Deco, c.1930

A strange and quite remarkable antique Charlie Chaplin (in character as The Tramp) charm, circa 1930. It's crafted in sterling silver and finished in enamel, complete with huge shoes, baggy suit, bowler hat, moustache, and cane. Never seen one like it.

Chaplin's story is quite remarkable: meteoric rise from the late Victorian workhouse to global celebrity, becoming one of the world's best known figures before turning 30. After a string of box office successes, culminating with The Great Dictator in 1940, his fortunes turned, particularly in the United States where he faced a string of controversies and an FBI backed smear campaign instigated by J Edgar Hoover who became concerned with his political leanings. He moved to Switzerland in 1953, giving up residency in the US never to return. In 1998, the film critic Andrew Sarris called Chaplin "arguably the single most important artist produced by the cinema, certainly its most extraordinary performer and probably still its most universal icon".

MEASUREMENTS 

21.0 x 7.9cm

WEIGHT 

2.1g

MARKS 

No marks present, tests as sterling silver

CONDITION 

Good, some minor enamel loss/wear