Swallow sterling silver antique locket necklace

Victorian Sterling Silver Engraved Square Swallow Locket Necklace. This 1880's era small sterling silver square locket features a popular motif of the Aesthetic Movement engraved by hand into the surface: a lilting swallow in flight amid branches.  Swallows in jewelry and decorative items were associated with 'returning home' to a loved one from sea, as apparently the swallow is the first bird a sailor will see as a boat approaches land. This locket opens and apparently has never held a photograph as the original pressed paper that would have been set inside the locket by the jeweler is still present. Sterling silver was overall a rare material in jewelry in the 19th century, when gold was overall the favored metal for jewels, representing wealth and status and tradition. However during the 1870's and 1880's, a shift in European and American material culture occurred, seen in both decorative arts, plastic arts, fashion etc. and more informal jewelry became popular for use during the da