Antique Double Tiger Claw Necklace, Victorian British Raj Gold Filled Engraved Pendant

A pair of tiger's claws, curved and polished to a warm honeyed patina, are joined at a rectangular gold filled panel engraved with a flowing acanthus scroll — the kind of dense, confident hand-engraving that marks quality goldsmith work of its era. Each claw is banded top and bottom in plain gold filled mounts, simple in design, letting the material itself carry the visual weight of the piece. The necklace hangs from a fine gold filled chain fitted with a spring ring clasp, finishing at 16 inches.

This is a survivor of the British Raj period, circa 1880s–1910s, when tiger-claw jewelry became a sought-after souvenir among British officers and travelers stationed in colonial India. Claws were set by local goldsmiths working in high-karat gold, producing pieces that fused Indian craftsmanship with Western jewelry conventions of the day — part trophy, part adornment, wholly of a particular colonial moment. The practice of crafting new tiger-claw jewelry has been prohibited for decades under wildlife protection law, which means every authentic antique example still in circulation is, by definition, a fixed and dwindling supply.

The piece presents in fair condition consistent with its age: expected surface wear to the gold filled mounts and natural variation in the claws themselves, which were, after all, never uniform to begin with. No maker's marks are present.

Measurements: 2@ 1" long x .75" wide - Pendant measures 54.8 mm long
Length: 16" finished length with spring ring clasp
Metal: gold filled
Materials: Tiger's claws 
Markings: none
Weight: 6.9 grams
Period: Circa 1880s–1910s (British Raj period)
Condition: Fair condition for its age