Exceptional Art Nouveau Brooch with Emeralds, Pearls, Diamonds and Enamel, Paris, c. 1900

Secrets of the Lake

Exceptional Art Nouveau Brooch with Emeralds, Pearls, Diamonds and Enamel, Paris, c. 1900

€ 46,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

They are strange flowers that bloom on the shores of this lake. From an impenetrable green depth, they wind their way up to the light. Long, elegantly curved leaves of gold and silver bear sparkling diamonds and glowing green emeralds. A large emerald flower has been placed in the center of the composition. It shines against a blue sky with golden clouds illuminated by the evening light. Two herons have joined it. They are diving for the secrets at the bottom, where precious pearls are waiting to be discovered. This precious brooch is as much a work of art as it is a museum-worthy piece of jewellery. Its size alone sets it apart from purely decorative pieces. Its rich, narrative design full of details is typical of the sophisticated jewellery culture of the years around c. 1900. Art Nouveau artists explored the boundaries between art and craftsmanship by using the motifs and themes of the time in a painting, a sculpture, a book decoration – or a precious brooch. Themes from nature, elegantly moving plant tendrils and even the curved necks of herons were favorite motifs because they could be made to submit to the curved lines of Art Nouveau. But the aquatic, the mysterious underwater world also appealed to the artists of the time beyond its mere forms. Numerous jewellery designs vary the underwater theme – the parallel to the newly discovered subconscious is certainly no coincidence. In an impressive brooch by Louis Aucoc, created in Paris around 1900 and now in the Pforzheim Jewellery Museum, the alluring danger clearly lurks in the deep sea, see online here Similarly, the water is also depicted here in translucent enamel. If you leaf through catalogs of Art Nouveau jewellery, French designers seem to have preferred to create jewellery with translucent enamel and water motifs. A large corsage ornament by Georges Fouquet, created around 1902, is illustrated in the catalog Parisian Jewellery. Vom zweiten Kaiserreich zur Belle Epoque, published by the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich 1989, p. 297ff, cat. 235; a further version can be found here. Other designers who created pieces of jewellery such as this brooch include Lucien Gautrait from France, Philippe Wolfers from Belgium and Lluís Masriera from Barcelona, who was, however, strongly influenced by French models. Our brooch is not signed. However, it bears an old Parisian hallmark indicating that it was made in Paris between 1847 and 1992. Its elegant, typically French design does not allow for any other place of origin. In more recent times, the brooch was imported back to France and hallmarked again on the pin mount. Perhaps the older hallmark, hidden at the top of the neck of the left heron, was simply overlooked. We discovered it in London.

Size & Details

Secrets of the Lake

€ 46,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

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