Collectors’ corner: Collectible, Brussels

Christie’s London Art Adorned

There’s little more opulent than a Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda collection, which features gilded and embellished couture items, entirely cross-stitched with flowers or adorned with intricate bead and sequin work. The Italian label often references artistic movements, from Rococo to the Renaissance in its collections; take A/W 2019’s Alta Moda show, held at the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, Sicily, which featured silk gazar gowns depicting Neoclassical paintings by French artists Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Antoine-Théodore Giroust.

Now, in a nod to this artistic connection, Christie’s Art Adorned sale features important Old Master Paintings and Decorative arts, curated alongside Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Moda and Alta Gioielleria collections. A number of astonishing jewellery creations will be on display, including cherub motif chandelier earrings strewn with lengths of diamonds and a cocktail ring with an oceanic Pariba at its centre, but it’s these hand-painted miniatures earrings which have us feeling most artful. These asymmetric designs feature two contemplative women, painted with flower-adorned head pieces and emerald earrings. Two pink sapphire birds sit atop each miniature, a symbol of the light hearted twist which Dolce & Gabbana brings to even its most prized creations. Art Adorned is on view Christie’s, 8 London from 22 November - 3 December.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Dobiaschofsky

A 200-lot sale of Patek Philippe watches goes on sale at the Swiss auctioneers, Dobiaschofsky, this week. Amid a wealth of mid-century ‘shaped’ watches is a model 3424/3 (Lot 3026 from the sale) designed by Gilbert Albert. Later to work with Omega and find fame as jewellery designer, Albert’s work was influenced by the likes of Brancusi and Mondrian. He brought a new thinking to watch design, introducing asymmetrical triangles, interlocking trapezes and textured surfaces.

Writer: James Gurney

The Courtauld Gallery

The Courtauld Gallery may currently be closed for extensive refurbishment, but its beautifully curated exhibitions continue. Precious and Rare: Islamic Metalwork from The Courtauld will visit Truro, Bradford, Bath and Oxford before returning to its home at The Courtauld for its reopening in 2021. Giving an insight into the highly skilled metalwork being produced between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, the so-called Courtauld Bag is a particular highlight. ‘It is the only surviving inlaid metalwork object of its kind,’ says Dr. Alexandra Gerstein, who has led the project. ‘We know it was made for a high ranking noblewoman of the court of the Ilkhanid dynasty.’ Details are elaborate: ‘The most special aspect is that on either side of the couple depicted on the lid, there are attendants lavishing food and drink and entertainments,’ and in an early example of wry self-referencing; ‘on her side is her personal attendant who is shown carrying a bag just like this one across his body.’

Writer: Hannah Silver

Hancocks

French jewellery house Lacloche Frères quickly earned a reputation in the first part of the twentieth century for their canny and innovative edit of Art Deco jewels and trinkets. This intricate platinum and diamond brooch, circa 1910, succinctly demonstrates their skilled eye, which captured both the precious and the unconventional. A heron is frozen in flight, pierced with old-cut and single-cut diamonds. Its generous dimensions make for a bold silhouette: wallflowers need not apply for this piece, which will make an arresting addition to a lapel.

Writer: Hannah Silver

Bonhams London Jewels: A breathtaking private collection of Van Cleef & Arpels rubies will go under the hammer at Bonhams’ London sale next week, but it is this remarkable magnetic necklace by Panayiotis Vassilaki – better known as Takis - that has caught our eye. Greatly admired by his contemporaries Alberto Giacometti and Marcel Duchamp, Greek sculptor Takis may not have reached their level of renown, but his creations were truly unique. He translated his fascination with magnetism into jewellery, exploring its sculptural possibilities to interesting effect. The results are aesthetically lovely – this gold pendant, designed as a magnet attracting a grape-like bunch of iron beads, hangs suspended from a simple wire collar. It is presented with the original electromagnetic display stand and cabinet. Bonhams London Jewels takes place on 24 September.

Writer: Hannah Silver

Skinner Auctioneers Important Jewellery: Over 230 lots of both antique and contemporary jewels went under the hammer at Skinner’s sale earlier in the week. Rare treasures including a remarkable Kashmir sapphire ring and impeccable diamond solitaires were all highlights, but our pick is this intricately embellished Pablo Picasso 23-kt gold pendant. An uncommon example of Picasso choosing to work with the miniature rather then on a large scale, it comes complete with a maker’s mark for Francois Hugo and sold for $13,530 USD.

Writer: Hannah Silver

PAD Monaco: Succinctly uniting contemporary and historical pieces in a thoughtful curation, PAD Monaco’s roster of galleries exhibiting in Monaco from 26 to 28 April is as imposing as ever. Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery is one such notable participant, marking their tenth year of inviting artists to create original pieces of wearable art in style with two striking rings from Ai Weiwei. Ring W and Ring M unite his interest in human migration with the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that inspired him, taking a shrewd look at the duality of human nature and our capacity for both great kindness and cruelty. The results, like hieroglyphics themselves, are gorgeously detailed, depicting the migrants’ stories in 24-ct gold. PAD Monaco takes place from 26 to 28 April.

Writer: Hannah Silver

Artcurial Monaco’s ‘Le Temps est Féminin’: There’s a horological treasure trove going under the gavel at Artcurial Monaco’s ‘Le Temps est Féminin’ auction on 23 January, including a 1970 Bulgari Serpenti cuff, a tiger’s eye sautoir by Piaget, and this Van Cleef & Arpels clock from 1927. Crafted at a time when China loomed large in the Western imagination, a carved jade Fo dog – acting as a watchful lion – stands guard atop a Bakelite table clock, lacquered with crushed eggshell and sang de boeuf, a copper-based glaze with a rust-brown tinge. ‘There’s a lot of originality in this clock. It’s a typical Art Deco piece but the hands are situated outside of the dial, rather than behind glass, which I hadn’t seen before,’ explains Artcurial’s timepiece expert, Geoffroy Ader. And while the high-low mix of jade and Bakelite might seem unconventional, it was not uncommon in luxury objets of the time. ‘There was a huge amount of creativity amongst jewellers between the wars, particularly from 1925 to 1935, with a lot of influence from the East. It’s a work of art,’ says Ader. Hear it roar. Artcurial Monaco’s ‘Le Temps est Féminin takes place on 23 January.

Writer: Caitlin McDonald

Christie’s London Important Jewels: There’s an eclectic array of pieces up for auction at Christie’s latest jewellery sale, from the extensive Cartier collection of the late Marcella Rossi, to a menagerie of animal motif brooches and ear clips. But for us, this jockey brooch is a real winner. The design originates from the early 20th century, and features an intricately detailed jockey, complete with a carved moonstone visage, astride a galloping horse, with a twinkling ruby eye. The hollow body of the horse allows it to interact with the clothing of the wearer, and makes for a thoroughbred styling option. Giddy up! Christie’s London Important Jewels takes place at on 28 November. 

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Bonhams London Fine Jewellery sale: While a whopping 5-ct fancy pink diamond of exceptional clarity will see bidding off to an ebullient start at Bonhams’ London Autumn fine jewellery sale, it’s the off-kilter curios that tend to take our fancy. Lot 23, a small cache of mid-century designs estimated at between £6,000-8,000, is right up our New York street. It includes a pair of double-sided arrow cufflinks, double-sided citrine cufflinks and a couple of delectable ‘pom pom’ slipper brooches set with saphhires and rubies and, in the case of the larger one, brilliant-cut diamonds. Bonhams has included a footnote that ’although unsigned, the two slipper brooches bear direct comparison to 1940s designs by Paul Flato’. The fact that the citrine cufflinks are also cased in an original East 57th Street Paul Flato box is another pointer to the door of the legendary New York jeweller. Paddles at the ready… Bonhams London Fine Jewellery starts on 26 September, from 14:00 BST 

Writer: Caragh McKay

Hancocks: August is awash with oceanic views and poolside plunges, so it’s fitting then, that Hancocks Jewel of the Month is this undulating 1960’s 18-ct gold ‘Tissu Polonais’ bracelet. Designed by Georges Lenfant – one of Cartier’s master jewellers, who also worked for Van Cleef & Arpels, Boivin and Bulgari – the bracelet is designed as a straight flexible strap of woven gold rippling waves. Eight raised crests are polished smooth in juxtaposition to the matte finish of the rest of the piece. What a way to make waves.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Artcurial’s Le Temps est féminin II Auction: Artcurial’s women’s watch auction in Monaco earlier this week was jam-packed with fascinating and twinkling lots by brands including Piaget, Patek Philippe and Cartier. But it just so happened that our favourite piece from the sale – a Bulgari Black Mamba Serpenti timepiece from 1971 – was the top selling lot from the auction. The elegant 18-ct gold and enamel snake-shaped bracelet watch, which conceals a watch dial within its mouth, belonged to Anja Lopez, the wife of operetta composer Francis Lopez, and sold for €430 600.

Photography: ©Almakarina. Writer: Laura Hawkins

Christie’s Magnificent Jewels and the Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller Auction New York: When Jean Schlumberger joined Tiffany & Co in 1956 – the jeweller, who had designed buttons for couturier Elsa Schiaparelli – became the first to stamp his Tiffany creations with his own name. Schlumberger’s first jewellery designs were china flowers mounted on clips, and Peggy and David Rockefeller were particularly attracted to his naturalistic aesthetic. Diving into the the lots from this New York auction, which opens tomorrow, this Tiffany shell brooch by Jean Schlumberger caught our eye. Circa 1957, the sapphire conch design features a diamond swirl tip. How’s that for deep sea treasure? Christie’s Magnificent Jewels and the Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller Auction takes place at 10am at 20 Rockefeller Center in New York on 12 June.

Bonhams Knightsbridge Jewellery Auction: there are 471 pieces of jewellery and gemstones available at Bonhams Knightsbridge upcoming sale on 13 June, and we’ve hopped straight onto a selection of bunny-motif pieces by Eva Segoura. The French jeweller – who designed from 1980 to 2000 – is renowned for creating a prizewinning show of pieces featuring 3D animals carved from gemstones. Think pigs lounging on rings, or frogs hopping onto chunky cuffs. Lot 56, a hardstone ring modelled into the shape of a rabbit is Watership Down worthy. The rabbit’s ears even have sparkling diamond eyes, and green gemstone leaves wrap around its shoulders like soft foliage.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Auction: Boghossian has come into bloom this week, as the Swiss high jewellery house broke records at Christie’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction in the sale of its Manuscript Bracelet. The piece, which evokes a colourful undergrowth of criss crossing leaves and flowers, is inspired by the miniature works of art in the 15th century prayer manuscript the Waldburg-Gebetbuch, and sold for $4,469,209 USD. Set using a range of coloured diamonds and natural antique cabochon pearls, it’s a woodland-worthy wonder for the wrist.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Sotheby’s Huntsman Auction: Sotheby’s has announced its first online lifestyle auction, curated by Pierre Lagrange, the financier and owner of Huntsman. The auction exemplifies the sophisticated lifestyle surrounding the Savile Row Tailor, which was founded in 1849, and features bespoke pieces from Lagrange’s own collection, alongside a selection of new works. Amongst Cartier watches and an eighteenth century Russian deerskin leather watchbox, it’s a hard call to pinpoint our favourite Lot. We find this Hunstman Dunhill tall table lighter particularly illuminating. An exemplary interiors piece, it has been been lacquered in Huntsman signature claret by the artisan Lionheart. Huntsman curated by Pierre Lagrange takes place from 22 May to 1 June.

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Auction: With over 400 jewels on offer at Christie’s Geneva upcoming jewllery sale, it’s a tricky task to pick a favourite. Amongst unusual animal motif jewels, sapphire evening bags and cigarette cases, this simply constructed diamond necklace caught our eye. There’s an industrial appeal to the design of Lot 352. 26 graduated old-cut diamonds, ranging from 15.04 to 11.08-ct are suspended within silver and gold frames, the teeth of each closure bringing a toughness to an otherwise classic design. The auction takes places at Christie’s, Geneva on 16 May, from 13:30

Writer: Laura Hawkins

Bonhams Fine Jewellery Auction: Apart from the star lots – a trio of fine Art Deco pieces by the esteemed British jewellery house Hennell is causing much pre-sale excitement – this mid-century line bracelet of invisibly set step-cut rubies has taken our fancy. A Tiffany design, it makes a cool, old-fashioned understatement of a kind that translates into timeless appeal. The auction takes place at Bonhams, London on 25 April, from 14.00.

Writer: Caragh McKay  

Mahnaz Collection: Last September, Francesca Grima, design heir to jeweller Andrew Grima, told Wallpaper* of her father’s renowned aesthetic: ‘He always chose textured gold over polished gold. Many of his designs have a large semi-precious stone as the protagonist and textured gold surrounding it.’ Imagine our delight, then, at finding a first class example of Grima’s aesthetic as part of ‘London Originals’, an exhibition made up of Mahnaz Collection’s archive of jewels which came out of the city between the Sixties and Eighties. The exhibition, on display at the Wright Gallery in Manhattan, features over 100 works by designers including Grima, Charles de Temple and George Weil. Mahnaz Collection is one of the largest collectors of Grima, and we think a particular treasure from its trove is this graphic and chunky white gold ring. Set with a tourmaline diamond and its centre, the ring surrounded by agate, its strata forming rectangular outlines around the trillon-cut gemstone. ‘London Originals’ is on view at the Wright Gallery until 11 May.

Writer: Laura Hawkins