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Egyptian Revival Art Deco gem set Bracelet
$182000.00 / ˆ130000.00
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| Item title: Egyptian Revival Art Deco gem set Bracelet |
Item ID: 4833 |
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Item description: * Highly important vintage French platinum Egyptian revival multigem bracelet crafted in the glamorous Art Deco style, comprising a total of 531 round brilliant cut diamonds, 153 calibre-cut buff-top rubies, 136 calibre-cut buff-top sapphires, 23 buff-top emeralds and 88 calibre-cut buff-top onyx gems - all in various sizes and designs and millegrain set into 28 pierced platinum panels. The bracelet and panels are depicting Egyptian mythology subjects like two oppositely facing sphynxes and two falcons with a centerpiece featuring the Egyptian winged goddess Isis - the goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility (she was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans, and the downtrodden, and she listened to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers). The bracelet is estimated to have nearly 15-17 carats of diamonds, about 8 carats of sapphires and 9 carats of rubies. The rubies are of best possible Burma quality and sapphires were found to be of exceptional Kashmir origin. Some of the larger sized diamonds are of transitional brilliant cut, while all small ones are modern brilliant cut, which brings to the conclusion that the bracelet is most likely crafted in or after the 40ies up to early 60ies in the typical Art Deco Egyptian revival style. The bracelet shows minor wear and has a French platinum hallmark at clasp with gross weight of 51.5 grams and measures 17.8cm (7”) long and 2cm (0.8”) wide.
The bracelet is nearly identical and resembles to an extremely high extent pieces made by Lacloche Freres, Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as a couple of other unsigned bracelets like the Elizabeth Taylor’s King Farouk bracelet, as well as a much later made 18K white gold unsigned piece sold through Christie's in 1999 (Sale 9272, Lot 91). An extensive research on Egyptian revival bracelets of similar or identical design proves there are virtually no more than 5-8 pieces known to have been or being offered for sale in the last 15-20 years.
Similar and nearly identical bracelets include:
1. Christie’s, Sep. 29-30 1999, Los Angeles, “Jewels” Sale 9272, Lot 91
2. Christie’s, Feb. 19-20 2003, St. Moritz, “Important Jewels” Sale 1306, Lot 380
3. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City, Feb. 18 – Jul. 4 2011, "Set In Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels" Exhibition, Egyptian bracelet – Exoticism Section
4. Christie’s, Dec. 13-14 2011, New York, “The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor” Sale ELIZABETH-2623, Lot 64
Estimates for bracelets of such a craftsmanship and style could range from several tens of thousands of dollars for later made white gold pieces to nearly $700,000 for 1925 Art Deco period ones in platinum, like in the case of Elizabeth Taylor’s yet unsigned piece. For one example, the Cartier firm continued to produce designs in the Egyptian idiom after the 1920's, although it was during this period that the most evolved of the Egyptian works were produced, several of which were exhibited at the French exhibition in Cairo in 1929 with the firm of Cartier receiving the Royal Warrant of King Fuad. Other major jewelry firms continued using the Egyptian revival design in their later works too, proving it an immortal and evergreen fashionable style. The late 1950’s and the 1960’s were influenced by the release of the movie Cleopatra which starred Elizabeth Taylor. The world went crazy for the heavy eyeliner, flowing costumes, and bold ornaments. When the treasures of King Tut’s tomb went on tour in the U.S. in the mid-1970s, fashion was again influenced by the styles of ancient Egypt.
Jewelry in the Egyptian taste was being created by such distinguished jewelers as Lacloche Freres, Van Cleef & Arpels, Lalique, Mellerio, Boucheron, Baugrand, Lemonnier and of course Cartier. In England, the Italian jeweler Carlo Giuliano was producing designs incorporating Egyptian motifs using cloisonné enamels as well as other advanced fabrication techniques unknown to the ancients. Objects such as clocks, cigarette and vanity cases, as well as jewelry, are particularly well suited to this style. Unexpected colors and materials were in line with Art Deco philosophy, and were the same as those used in Egypt at around 20 BC.
Among the most significant of civilized mankind's achievements is the art of ancient Egypt. It was a traditional and timeless art, bringing to life the mysteries of an ancient civilization and thriving for over five thousand years in the valley of the Nile. Periodic revivals of Egyptian art occur in cycles of about 50 or 60 years. European interest in the ancient Nile civilization reappeared during the 18th Century with the newly discovered frescoes at Herculaneum and Pompeii depicting Egyptian motifs such as the Isis figure. The Egyptian revival provided a recurring theme in design throughout the 19th Century, with roots in the Napoleonic conquest of the Nile. Ancient Egyptian motifs became dominant elements in the Empire style, promoted by the first architect/interior designer team of Percier and Fontaine. Another neo-Egyptian style swept Europe during the reign of Napoléon III, exemplified by the lavish production of Verdi's Aida in 1871, commemorating the opening of the Suez Canal and the inauguration of the Cairo Opera House. While it is likely that there would have been a further revival in the 1920's, the discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922, by Howard Carter (1873-1939), financed by Lord Carnarvon (1866-1923) released a wave of excitement which swept the fine arts, literature, fashion and film. It was the most sensational archaeological discovery of the 20th Century. An ancient myth had been reborn and the lore of Pharaonic Egypt continues today.
Isis or in original more likely is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic. She was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans, and the downtrodden, and she listened to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats, and rulers. Isis is the goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility. The goddess Isis (mother of Horus) was the first daughter of Geb, god of the Earth, and Nut, the goddess of the Overarching Sky, and was born on the fourth intercalary day. At some time Isis and Hathor had the same headdress. In later myths about Isis, she had a brother, Osiris, who became her husband, and she then was said to have conceived Horus. Isis was instrumental in the resurrection of Osiris when he was murdered by Set. Her magical skills restored his body to life after she gathered the body parts that had been strewn about the earth by Set. This myth became very important in later Egyptian religious beliefs. During the formative centuries of Christianity, the religion of Isis drew converts from every corner of the Roman Empire. In Italy itself, the Egyptian faith was a dominant force. At Pompeii, archaeological evidence reveals that Isis played a major role. In Rome, temples were built and obelisks erected in her honor. In Greece, traditional centers of worship in Delos, Delphi, and Eleusis were taken over by followers of Isis, and this occurred in northern Greece and Athens as well. Harbors of Isis were to be found on the Arabian Sea and the Black Sea. Inscriptions show followers in Gaul, Spain, Pannonia, Germany, Arabia, Asia Minor, Portugal and many shrines even in Britain. Following the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great the worship of Isis spread throughout the Graeco-Roman world. Tacitus writes that after Julius Caesar's assassination, a temple in honor of Isis had been decreed; Augustus suspended this, and tried to turn Romans back to the Roman deities who were closely associated with the state. Eventually the Roman emperor Caligula abandoned the Augustan wariness toward what was described as oriental cults, and it was in his reign that the Isiac festival of the Navigium Isidis was established in Rome. According to Josephus, Caligula donned female garb and took part in the mysteries he instituted, and in the Hellenistic age Isis acquired a "new rank as a leading goddess of the Mediterranean world." Vespasian, along with Titus, practiced incubation in the Roman Iseum. Domitian built another Iseum along with a Serapeum. Trajan appears before Isis and Horus, presenting them with votive offerings of wine, in a bas-relief on his triumphal arch in Rome. Hadrian decorated his villa at Tibur with Isiac scenes. Galerius regarded Isis as his protectress.
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