Egyptian Revival “Double Ibis” highly detailed 18k gold brooch in the form of two Ibis with hanging fringe feathers set with a round cabochon emerald (approx. 5 carats) and a round cabochon ruby (approx. 6 carats), c. 1920
Udall & Ballou “Scottie” dog brooch set with 62 round cut diamonds (approx. 5 carats TW), two triangle shaped diamonds, one diamond shaped diamond, black enamel and onyx all set in platinum, c.1930
Stylized “Grape Cluster” brooch with platinum grapes set with 20 round cut diamonds (approx. 3.50 carats TW) and highly textured and detailed 18k gold leaves and vines, c.1980’s
Franz Delavilla / Oskar Dietrich brooch, Handwrought gold with heart-shaped leaves, moonstones, marked: OD makers touchmark, Austrian horse mark (585 / 14k gold standard), c.1911 (matching earrings)
Mitzi Otten-Friedmann / Wiener Werkstaette reverse painted glass and silver brooch, signed c. 1915
MITZI OTTEN-FRIEDMANN (1884-1955) Austria
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE (1903-1932)
Brooch c. 1915
Reverse-painted glass depicting a couple set in a silver frame / back
Marks: M. OTTEN-FRIEDMANN on the front (right), the reverse stamped: WW, Vienna assay mark for 900 silver
D: 2 3/8”
Rosalia Marie Friedmann-Otten (“Mitzi”) * November 28, 1884 Vienna, † May 5, 1955 New York, NY
Student at the School of Applied Arts in Vienna (with Oskar Strnad), Friedmann-Otten participated in numerous exhibitions (including art shows in 1908, 1920; Neukunstgruppe 1909; German Women’s Art in 1925; Werkbundausstellung 1930). Member of the Austrian Werkbund, the Wiener Werkstätte and the Neukunstgruppe. One of the most versatile artists (commercial art, metalwork, jewelry, fashion, starting from 1920 mainly enamel works, including large-scale email pictures), Friedmann-Otten had to flee in 1938 to the United States.
European Art Deco whimsical “Dachshund” brooch in 18k gold, green champlevé enamel sweater and eye and set with 18 round-cut diamonds, signed: maker’s touchmark, 750 c. 1930’s
Gustav Manz (designer) for Thomas Kirkpatrick & Co., Fifth Avenue, NYC Art Deco Butterfly brooch, 12 baguette diamonds and 83 round diamonds (approx. 11 carats TW), 22 contoured and buff cut sapphires and 10 contoured and buff cut peridot, black enamel details all set in platinum, signed, c. 1920’s
Robert Phillips, London (1810-1881) Archaeological Revival round “Button” brooch in 18k gold set with a large cabochon salmon coral jewel (15mm in depth x 19mm round) and light sky-blue enamel background with a finely detailed twisted gold wire and beaded applied convex round gold border, original leather and green silk velvet and satin presentation box signed: Phillips, 23 Cockspur Street, London, c.1875
Jules & Louis Wiese Etruscan Revival brooch set with a gem quality cabochon ruby (approx. 4.32 carats by calculation) and two natural pearls (7mm each) all in an elaborate 18k gold mount with intricate twisted scrolls and a gold wire wrapped border signed: Wiese (in Gothic-style signature mark), French diamond maker’s poincon, French Eagle’s head mark for 18k gold, original burgundy leather presentation box with fancy embossed gilt initials on the cover and a vanilla silk velvet and satin interior, c.1875
Tiffany & Co. “Prince of Wales’ Feathers” made during the reign of Edward VII (he held his title of the Prince of Wales longer than anyone before him and was King of England from 1901 to 1910) brooch pave set with 123 round-cut diamonds (approx. 2.50 carats TW) and all set in a three dimensional brooch of platinum topped gold, signed: Tiffany & Co., c.1900
W. Truman Ltd. / Peter Truman for The Goldsmith’s Company “Chrysanthemum” brooch in platinum and diamonds and natural Mississippi pearls, retailed by Tiffany & Co. New York, signed, c. 2000
French 19th Century “Baroque” inspired brooch 18K yellow gold set with a large oval cut pink tourmaline (approx. 16 carats TW) and 59 rose cut diamonds (approx. 5 carats TW), marked, c. 1890
Bulgari, Rome, “Swallowtail Butterfly” brooch, 18k gold with 134 diamonds (approx. 10+ carats TW), 37 buff-cut gold and madeira citrines and buff-cut black onyx set along the edge and as accent details, signed: BVLGARI, original signed brown leather suede and silk lined presentation box, c.1940’s
Enrico Serafini “Pineapple” brooch, 18K yellow and white gold channel set with the pineapple body with citrines with emeralds pave set in the white gold leaves, Marked: 750, Italy, FI, c. 1950’s
Enrico Serafini (1913-1968) was born in Florence, had a workshop in Piazza Santa Felicità in that city in 1947, and quickly established a successful business creating jewelry for many celebrities of that time, including John Steinbeck and Adlai Stevenson.
Seaman Schepps, New York “Maltese Cross” brooch, one large round cut central citrine (approx. 45 carats) set with 4 large square step-cut citrines (approx. 108 carats TW) and further set with four extra long baguette citrines (approx. 13 carats TW) in a radiating pattern set in 14k yellow gold (total citrine carat weight of 166 carats), signed: Seaman Schepps, 14k, c. 1940’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”.
Mahrokh Beck, Munich, Stylized flower brooch with a large square cut citrine, a smaller square cut citrine, yellow and orange oval citrines, sapphires and cognac diamonds all set in 18K yellow gold, c. 2005
MAHROKH BECK Munich, Germany
Stylized flower brooch c. 2005
Set in 18 K yellow gold with a large square cut citrine (approx. 40 carats TW) and a smaller square cut citrine (approx. 4 carats TW), 2 oval orange citrines, 2 oval yellow citrines, 2 oval sapphires and cognac diamonds
Max Cartier, Paris (born 1935, Film Director, Sculptor) 18K yellow and white gold signature “wrapped” bass or cello sculptural brooch. Signed: Max Cartier (script signature) on lower front right, French maker’s mark with an A L in a diamond poincon, French mark with a M C in a diamond poincon for Max Cartier (2x), French Eagle’s head touch mark for 18k gold (2x), c.1980
Van Cleef & Arpels circular stylized clip brooch in 18K gold with a ribbed motif, signed: VCA, Or, 750, copyright 88, VCA French touchmark in a diamond, no. B3378R5, c. 1980’s
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).
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