Product Description
Antonio Pineda “Circle” cuff / bracelet, sterling set with six onyx circles, signed, c. 1950’s
Antonio Pineda “Circle” cuff / bracelet, sterling set with six onyx circles, signed, c. 1950’s
An immigrant’s son, who grew up in the tenements of New York’s Lower East Side, Seaman Schepps rose to prominence in the 1930s with jewelry designs that challenged the status quo and defined a new style for the American woman. With his chunky brooches, “barbaric” bracelets and “bubble” earrings, Schepps pioneered a unique style of jewelry whose sense of splendor offered a new perspective to the world of fine jewelry.
Witty, over-the-top and flattering, Schepps’ jewelry embodied style and originality and was featured on the covers of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Look and other magazines. It appealed to a myriad of clients from Katherine Hepburn to Andy Warhol to the Duchess of Windsor and greatly influenced his contemporaries. Today, some 50 years after his death, he continues to inspire modern jewelers.
Through the 1930s, and into the 40s and 50s, new clients flocked to him at his store on Madison Avenue. Often clients wanted a one-of-a-kind bauble and commissioned Schepps to incorporate their old jewelry into a fresh new design. Frequently this led to landmark decisions that helped distinguish Schepps as an extraordinary talent. His client list included Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, the Duchess of Windsor, and members of the Du Pont, Mellon and Rockefeller families. By serving these most powerful and influential individuals, Schepps became known as “America’s Court Jeweler”.
HENRY VAN DE VELDE (1863-1957) Belgium (design mount)
for “LA MAISON MODERNE” Paris, France
ALPHONSE-EDOUARD DEBAIN France (execution mount)
EUGÈNE BAUDIN (1853-1918) France (pottery)
Vase c. 1900
Matte-glazed pottery, cranberry bright turquoise and white highlights, elaborate Art Nouveau whiplash silver mount.
Marks: E Baudin, AD (silversmith monogram), French 950 silver assay mark
For more information on van de Velde ceramics see: Ceramics of the 20th Century, Tamara Préaud and Serge Gauthier (New York: Rizzoli, 1982) illus. no. 67, p.42; Art Nouveau and Art Deco Silver, Annelies Krekel-Aalberse (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,1989), pp. 63, 90, 264.
For other A-E. Debain designs see: The Paris Salons 1895-1914, Vol. V: Objets d’Art & Metalware, Alastair Duncan (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1999), p. 208.
For related Van de Velde mount designs see: Jugendstil, Irmela Franzke (Munich: Battenberg Verlag, 1987), illus. 169, p. 87.
H: 8 1/4” x W: 4”