The familiar idiom ‘pigs might fly’ is apparently derived from a centuries-old Scottish proverb, but it gained particular popularity in the late 19th century with the books of Lewis Carroll. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice tells the duchess she has a right to think. “Just about as much right,” said the duchess, “as pigs have to fly…”
This novel leaping pig brooch, dating from the early 20th century, is formed around a baroque pearl set with diamonds and rubies in silver and gold. At Woolley & Wallis’ July 20 sale in Salisbury it carries expectations of £4000-6000.