$189,600
Art Deco Gem-set Devant de Corsage, Boucheron, Paris, designed by Lucien Hirtz, mounted by Bisson, lapidary work by Brethiot, centering diamond-set scrolls among cabochon coral, lapis, and jadeite leaves, diamond wt. 11.05 cts., platinum, palladium, and 18kt gold mount. Exhibitions: Exposition Universelle des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, 1925. Note: Maison Boucheron (est. 1853) grew in a relatively short period from a small workshop in the Rue Royale to a prestigious firm enjoying royal patronage and occupying a mansion on the Place Vendome. Henri Vever said that from early on, Frederic Boucheron was daring, and, with the finest materials, created jewels which "very few of his colleagues would have dared to make at the time ... Yet despite their high cost, these pieces easily found buyers." The firm was often in the vanguard of design and materials innovation, mastering plique a jour enameling in advance of many other houses, and reviving the armorer's technique of marrying blued steel and gold net. In the 1920s, Louis Boucheron was still in the avant garde, drawing design ideas from Cubism, African Art, and the Ballets Russes, while taking full advantage of the technological progress in the lapidary arts. Maison Boucheron was a major contributor in the success of the 1925 Exposition Universelle, considered the defining event of the Art Deco period. This devant de corsage, designed by Lucien Hirtz especially for the Exposition, represents many of period's best innovations. Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2009-03-17
