Maison Ostertag Important French Art Deco Jewel Mounted Covered Box c.1925
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Maison Ostertag Important French Art Deco Jewel Mounted Covered Box c.1925
MAISON OSTERTAG (Place Vendome, Paris) 1920’s and 30’s
ARNOLD OSTERTAG (Jeweler / Designer)
VERGER FRERES (maker)
Art Deco jewel mounted mechanical covered box c. 1925
Of rectangular stepped form, the black enamel box hinged and accented at the top with a gold bezel mounted sugar loaf shaped coral; spring loaded to pull down and reveal a cinnabar red enamel interior, the exterior with gold champlevé set highly stylized geometric initials and further ornamented with geometric square cut out gold applied handles embellished with salmon coral beads and red enamel bands, all resting on a recessed agate base and conforming black onyx base punctuated with a gold bezel mounted sugar loaf shaped coral on each corner.
Marks: Ostertag (on a gold plaque inset into the underside of the onyx base)
H: 4″ x W: 3 1/2″ x D: 3 1/2″
Arnold Ostertag was a Swiss-born jeweler who became a dominant force in the creation of fine jewels and objects in Paris during the 1920s and 30s. After studying dentistry in Chicago, Ostertag embarked on a world tour and, while traveling through India, became fascinated by jewels. He later settled in Paris and opened a very successful salon on the Place Vendome. In design and quality, Ostertag’s jewels, which frequently featured Indian themes, rivaled the production of many of the most famous Parisian jewelry houses. In fact, the renowned clockmaker George Verger/Verger Freres, produced wonderful clocks and mechanical objects for Ostertag, as well as for many other world renowned jewelers and likely masterminded the mechanism of the Art Deco box above. In addition to making pieces for Ostertag, Maison Verger made pieces for Cartier, LaCloche, Marzo, Boucheron, Hermes, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chaumet, Mauboussin, etc. Arnold Ostertag was popular on the international front and made many trips to America spending time in both New York, as well as Los Angeles where he befriended many Hollywood stars. He also received commissions during his trips to make exquisite custom jewelry and precious jeweled objects such as this fine Art Deco box.
György Kepes, Abstraction, Gelatin silver print, 1942
GYÖRGY KEPES (1906-2001) Hungary/USA
Abstraction 1942
Silver gelatin print
Signed: 9 (in a circle, on back); Gyorgy Kepes 1942 (in ink on back)
György Kepes was a Hungarian-born painter, designer, educator and art theorist. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1937, he taught design at the New Bauhaus (later the School of Design, then Institute of Design, then Illinois Institute of Design or IIT) in Chicago. In 1947 He founded the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he taught until his retirement in 1974.
Reinhold Klaus / Carl Geyling Atelier Vienna “Cubist Man with top hat and flowers” stained glass window c. 1930
REINHOLD KLAUS (1881-1963) Vienna, Austria
CARL GEYLING ATELIER (founded 1841) Vienna, Austria
Man with tophat and flowers c. 1930
Window of stained and hand-painted leaded glass
Provenance: Estate of Carl Geyling (1814-1880), Vienna
H: 17 3/4″ x W: 14 1/2″
Reinhold Klaus studied from 1898-1902 with Alfred Roller at the Kaiserlich-Königliche Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna. In 1914 Klaus married into the Carl Geyling family and became extensively involved with with stained glass painting. As early as 1918 Klaus worked on a stained glass window for the Siegestempel am Bisamberg in Vienna. In 1934 he became a professor of stained glass painting at the Kunstgewerbeschule, as well as creative director of the C. Geylings Erben glass painting company. Reinhold Klaus, a member of the Künstlerhaus since 1924 received many prizes and honors. He worked on commissions for the St. Veits cathedral in Prague, the St. Stephan cathedral in Vienna and many others.
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