Margaret de Patta “Abstract” brooch, silver, chrysoprase and carnelian, signed, c. 1945, Illustrated: Design 1935 – 1965, What Modern Was: Selections from the Liliane and David M. Stewart collection, 1991
MARGARET DE PATTA (1903-1964) USA
Abstract brooch c. 1945
Sterling with both a smooth finish and a textured surface in a biomorphic design set with rondels of chrysoprase and carnelian
Marks: De Patta chevron insignia, STERLING
Illustrated: Design 1935 – 1965, What Modern Was: selections from the Liliane and David M. Stewart collection ed. Martin Eidelberg, (Montreal/New York: Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Montréal/Harry N. Abrams, 1991), p. 100, illus. 130.
Related designs illustrated: The Jewelry of Margaret de Patta: A Retrospective Exhibition, Oakes Gallery and The Oakland Museum (Oakland, Calif.: 1979); Messengers of Modernism: American Studio Jewelry 1940-1960, ed. Martin Eidelberg, (Montreal: The Lake St. Louis Historical Society, 1996).
British “Tree Frog” brooch, silver set with green and clear paste jewels, red jewel eyes, marks c. 1895
Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book “On the Origin of Species” overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of specie. By the 1870s both the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact and awakening the public to the diversity of life. The frog emerging from Darwin’s Pond was a symbol of the times and a favorite theme for jewelry of the era.
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