Lot Essay
STORY TO COME BEFORE FIRST LOT OF COLIN PROPERTY
When I met Mrs. Colin in 1978 at the exhibition of Wellington Gems in London, I admired her gold chain and pendant, the latter being imaginatively set with four Roman intaglios, similar to those on show (lot 84). She told me that it was signed by Wièse and thus introduced me to a great artist whose work has been a special study of mine ever since. It also emerged from our conversation that she owned other pieces by famous French and Italian makers, including some withheld from the magnificent donation made by Dame Joan Evans to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1975. But whereas Joan Evans grew up with antique jewellery and inherited her family collection, Mrs. Colin discovered it on her own, and there are few Americans who have pursued it with such enthusiasm and over so many decades. Bought for sheer pleasure and not for display in the showcases of a museum, nonetheless, the Colin collection is of great interest to the history of the period 1760-1900.
The earliest pieces illustrate how the jewellers of Lisbon and Madrid interpreted the favourite eighteenth century themes of ribbons and flowers, to wear with the stiff brocades then fashionable. These earrings, necklaces and brooches are solidly mounted in silver with light yellow-green chrysolites, tawny golden topazes and amethysts imported from the Empire of Brazil. Typically Portuguese is the gold beading on the edges of the settings of the chrysolite earrings which breaks up the reflections from the stones into further shafts of light (lot 67). Equally distinctive are the swagged earrings whose inordinate length balanced the height of the hair piled up high under the mantilla of a dark eyed Spanish beauty. The conservative taste of the Iberian jewellers and their clients is epitomised by two pairs of three drop girandole earrings, a style which originated in the mid-seventeenth century and remained in fashion for the next two hundred years (lots 32 and 102). The group of cut steel jewellery also demonstrates the persistance of eighteenth century designs and materials into the following period. These butterflies, rosette brooch, and the parure - tiara, necklace and bracelets - made to be worn with the Victorian widow's weeds, derive from the eighteenth century use of cut steel as a substitute for rose cut diamonds (Lots 14, 15 and 16).
Mrs. Colin's rings show how the light-hearted rococo style gives way to neo-classical severity. Thus the charming "giardinetto" design c. 1760 with an emerald and diamond bouquet tied with a ribbon (lot 112) is updated thirty years later by enclosing the flowers within the rigid outlines of a lozenge shaped bezel (lots 113 and 114). These huge late eighteenth century ovals, navettes and octagons which cover the finger up to the knuckle echo the length of the earrings of the same date. The austere geometric shapes are softened by trellis patterns and by blue grounds covered with twinkling stars in a galaxy of light (lot 94). They remained popular well into the nineteenth century, coexisting with the broad, more compact forms introduced around 1800.
Closest to Mrs. Colin's heart was the jewellery of the Romantic period from 1820 until the late 1850's and not even the Victoria and Albert Museum can compare with this array. Pride of place goes to the numerous parures - three pieces matching in design - worn with evening dress, and the half sets - two ornaments only - for morning visits. A rich woman of the time would have had several such parures, as a character in Mrs. Gore's novel, A Lady of Fashion (1856) explained, "I cannot always be sparkling in diamonds....no leader of bon ton (good society) can get on without all sorts of pretty gems."
Chrysolites, pink topazes, citrines, garnets, amethysts and turquoises, some in just one colour only, others with combinations with other stones and enamels are framed in gold wrought in various colours, with filigreee cannetille, or stamped with shells, scrolls and leaves. Most would have been purchased at the time of a marriage when relation and friends contributed to the casket of jewels which a bride would need to take her place in society. Proudly displayed at the reception held in her home after the contract these parures would be accompanied by many individual items - earrings, watch chains, belt buckles, bracelets - as well as cashmere shawls, vinaigrettes, fans, furs and feathers.
In the absence of signatures and retailer's boxes it is not always easy to assign a place of origin to the jewellery of this period, for the fashions which always originated in Paris were quickly adopted elsewhere. However, French superiority is most handsomely demonstrated by the quality of two items associated with the court jewellers, Bapst and Co., heirs to the firm appointed before the Revoloution to Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. These and other Parisian makers were the first to respond to the various artistic influences of Romanticism, and which are all exemplified in this collection. The first was historicism, or the nostalgia for past times which made it fashionable to eat in Gothic dining rooms, sit in gilded Louis XIV salons and sleep in a Pompadour bedroom. The vanished medieval world of chivalry and noble aspirations is evoked by jewels with pointed arches, quatrefoil and flourons, and by the preferences for gold settings rather that silver. The sources for a poison ring with box bezel (lot 29), a mourning bracelet with Henri II black and white enamels, and the strapwork frame of a pendant are French Renaissance jewellery and the architecture of the Palace of Fontainebleau. Two of the most successful designs, the girandole earring and the Sécigné or large brooch pinned to the centre of the neckline, are associated with the grandes dames of the court of Louis XIV at Versailles. The elegance of the eighteenth century decorative arts is recaptured by earrings with golden swags and by a pearl diamond and blue enamel bowknot suite combined with flowers and leaves (lot 96 and 111). The pioneer of the return to naturalism was Jules Fossin, from 1815-48 in the rue de Richelieu and whose design albums are conserved in the Chaumet Museum, 12, Place Vendome. Mrs. Colin's floral sprays with green enamel ivy and rose leaves (lot 115), golden bouquet for a comb (lot 88) and bracelets with convolvulus and lilies entwined round the hinged gold branches (lot 89) all have their counterparts in Fossin's designs. In the same naturalistic group is the attractive suite of aquamarine flowers on golden leaves alternating with bunches of grapes which, in a tooled case by the firm of Bapst, crown jewellers, illustrates the type of jewellery seen at receptions at the Tuileries during the reign of Louis Philippe and his queen, Marie Amelie (lot 57). Also by Bapst is the exceptional Garter bracelet, the broad band of royal blue enamel held within a network of tiny rose diamonds, and with larger diamonds in the buckle (lot 110). Another bracelet on the same theme, but more substantial and enamelled turquoise blue within a white border is hung with a padlock, symbolic of sentiment (lot 91). Similarly expressive of affection, is the bunch of pearls and blue forget me knots, a brooch with a reliquary compartment for the hair of a beloved friend or relation, and most emblematic of all, by a snake twisted in several coils with diamond head and tail (lot 27).
As a result of the catastrophic revolution in 1848 all the principal designs of the Romantic period continued well into the next decade. It was not until the 1860's that a distinctively Napoleon III style emerged, and the source for it is the classical jewellery of the Campana collection acquired for the Louvre by the Emperor in 1862. So many exquisite motifs - laurel, amphorae, husks, ivy, - executed in gold filigree and granulation fascinated the jewellers who then rose to the challenge of adapting them to the taste of their clients, which was for the rich and massively splendid. Two of the most successful, Eugene Fontenay and Jules Wièse are exceptionally well represented in this collection. Although obviously inspired by classical jewellery Fontenay's turquoise cameo suite dedicated to the goddess Hera and her attendants, bears the unmistakeable imprint of its own time. The rose diamonds framing the cameos, and the long golden fringes attached to the pendant of the majestically crowned goddess and to the earrings are typical of late nineteenth century taste (lot 80). No other jeweller knew more about the history of this subject than Fontenay, who was the author of the authoritative Les Bijoux Anciens (1887) but Jules Wièse came close to him. At the time of his success at the Great Exhibition held in London in 1862, the Art Journal described him as "at once the artist, the artisan and the merchant himself superintending all the issues of his establishment in the rue de l'Arbre Sec, and sending forth nothing that bears not the stamp of his ciltivated mind." Mrs. Colin's pendant with four cornelian intaglio heads illustrates Wièse's creative talents, for by repeating the heads in the gold cameo impressions behind, he ensured that the jewel could be worn both back and front (lot 84).
Other cameo jewels in the collection show the fashion for black and white onyxes, for wide and heavy bracelets and for lockets to hang from a velvet ribbon high at the neck. Most important too is the archeological necklace made by Carlo Giuliano of London, a protegé of the great Roman jeweller, Alessandro Castellani, who owned the ancient prototype for this intricate design which combined several enamelled rosettes, round discs, ivy leaves and wine jars of different sizes (lot 86). Such jewels were for the rich women of the intelligentia, like the heroine of a novel by Ouida, described as "radiant in amber, black lace and Etruscan ornaments."
The style of Lucien Falize is represented by an enamelled and jewelled pendant close to a design by Paul Birckenhalz (1561-1639) (lot 87). It succeeds in balancing the different elements - opal, pearls, a sapphire and diamonds and enamelled gold - into a harmonious work of art. Also from the Renaissance is the motif of a chimera, now adopted for a necklace, but infused with a vigour closer to the creations of the eighteenth century designer, Nicholas Pineau, than to those of the sixteenth century goldsmiths (lot )
As more and more of the neck and shoulders was revealed by low cut dresses, the necklace became indispensable for evening wear. One such, composed of turquoise and diamond clusters combines the need for strong colour and glitter when worn under the glare of newly introduced electric light (lot ). Similarly, brilliant effects were obtained from chains of diamonds hanging down like streaks of light "en pampilles" from a floral brooch, mounted on a spring for extra sparkle. The same mobility characterises the designs of other naturalistic brooches, executed not only in diamonds but also in gold and turquoises and hung with fringes and aiguillettes which swung with every movement. They belong to the world of The Age of Innocence and The Buccaneers and Edith Wharton, who, like the characters in her novels, bought French clothes and jewellery, would surely have enjoyed reading this catalogue.
When I met Mrs. Colin in 1978 at the exhibition of Wellington Gems in London, I admired her gold chain and pendant, the latter being imaginatively set with four Roman intaglios, similar to those on show (lot 84). She told me that it was signed by Wièse and thus introduced me to a great artist whose work has been a special study of mine ever since. It also emerged from our conversation that she owned other pieces by famous French and Italian makers, including some withheld from the magnificent donation made by Dame Joan Evans to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1975. But whereas Joan Evans grew up with antique jewellery and inherited her family collection, Mrs. Colin discovered it on her own, and there are few Americans who have pursued it with such enthusiasm and over so many decades. Bought for sheer pleasure and not for display in the showcases of a museum, nonetheless, the Colin collection is of great interest to the history of the period 1760-1900.
The earliest pieces illustrate how the jewellers of Lisbon and Madrid interpreted the favourite eighteenth century themes of ribbons and flowers, to wear with the stiff brocades then fashionable. These earrings, necklaces and brooches are solidly mounted in silver with light yellow-green chrysolites, tawny golden topazes and amethysts imported from the Empire of Brazil. Typically Portuguese is the gold beading on the edges of the settings of the chrysolite earrings which breaks up the reflections from the stones into further shafts of light (lot 67). Equally distinctive are the swagged earrings whose inordinate length balanced the height of the hair piled up high under the mantilla of a dark eyed Spanish beauty. The conservative taste of the Iberian jewellers and their clients is epitomised by two pairs of three drop girandole earrings, a style which originated in the mid-seventeenth century and remained in fashion for the next two hundred years (lots 32 and 102). The group of cut steel jewellery also demonstrates the persistance of eighteenth century designs and materials into the following period. These butterflies, rosette brooch, and the parure - tiara, necklace and bracelets - made to be worn with the Victorian widow's weeds, derive from the eighteenth century use of cut steel as a substitute for rose cut diamonds (Lots 14, 15 and 16).
Mrs. Colin's rings show how the light-hearted rococo style gives way to neo-classical severity. Thus the charming "giardinetto" design c. 1760 with an emerald and diamond bouquet tied with a ribbon (lot 112) is updated thirty years later by enclosing the flowers within the rigid outlines of a lozenge shaped bezel (lots 113 and 114). These huge late eighteenth century ovals, navettes and octagons which cover the finger up to the knuckle echo the length of the earrings of the same date. The austere geometric shapes are softened by trellis patterns and by blue grounds covered with twinkling stars in a galaxy of light (lot 94). They remained popular well into the nineteenth century, coexisting with the broad, more compact forms introduced around 1800.
Closest to Mrs. Colin's heart was the jewellery of the Romantic period from 1820 until the late 1850's and not even the Victoria and Albert Museum can compare with this array. Pride of place goes to the numerous parures - three pieces matching in design - worn with evening dress, and the half sets - two ornaments only - for morning visits. A rich woman of the time would have had several such parures, as a character in Mrs. Gore's novel, A Lady of Fashion (1856) explained, "I cannot always be sparkling in diamonds....no leader of bon ton (good society) can get on without all sorts of pretty gems."
Chrysolites, pink topazes, citrines, garnets, amethysts and turquoises, some in just one colour only, others with combinations with other stones and enamels are framed in gold wrought in various colours, with filigreee cannetille, or stamped with shells, scrolls and leaves. Most would have been purchased at the time of a marriage when relation and friends contributed to the casket of jewels which a bride would need to take her place in society. Proudly displayed at the reception held in her home after the contract these parures would be accompanied by many individual items - earrings, watch chains, belt buckles, bracelets - as well as cashmere shawls, vinaigrettes, fans, furs and feathers.
In the absence of signatures and retailer's boxes it is not always easy to assign a place of origin to the jewellery of this period, for the fashions which always originated in Paris were quickly adopted elsewhere. However, French superiority is most handsomely demonstrated by the quality of two items associated with the court jewellers, Bapst and Co., heirs to the firm appointed before the Revoloution to Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. These and other Parisian makers were the first to respond to the various artistic influences of Romanticism, and which are all exemplified in this collection. The first was historicism, or the nostalgia for past times which made it fashionable to eat in Gothic dining rooms, sit in gilded Louis XIV salons and sleep in a Pompadour bedroom. The vanished medieval world of chivalry and noble aspirations is evoked by jewels with pointed arches, quatrefoil and flourons, and by the preferences for gold settings rather that silver. The sources for a poison ring with box bezel (lot 29), a mourning bracelet with Henri II black and white enamels, and the strapwork frame of a pendant are French Renaissance jewellery and the architecture of the Palace of Fontainebleau. Two of the most successful designs, the girandole earring and the Sécigné or large brooch pinned to the centre of the neckline, are associated with the grandes dames of the court of Louis XIV at Versailles. The elegance of the eighteenth century decorative arts is recaptured by earrings with golden swags and by a pearl diamond and blue enamel bowknot suite combined with flowers and leaves (lot 96 and 111). The pioneer of the return to naturalism was Jules Fossin, from 1815-48 in the rue de Richelieu and whose design albums are conserved in the Chaumet Museum, 12, Place Vendome. Mrs. Colin's floral sprays with green enamel ivy and rose leaves (lot 115), golden bouquet for a comb (lot 88) and bracelets with convolvulus and lilies entwined round the hinged gold branches (lot 89) all have their counterparts in Fossin's designs. In the same naturalistic group is the attractive suite of aquamarine flowers on golden leaves alternating with bunches of grapes which, in a tooled case by the firm of Bapst, crown jewellers, illustrates the type of jewellery seen at receptions at the Tuileries during the reign of Louis Philippe and his queen, Marie Amelie (lot 57). Also by Bapst is the exceptional Garter bracelet, the broad band of royal blue enamel held within a network of tiny rose diamonds, and with larger diamonds in the buckle (lot 110). Another bracelet on the same theme, but more substantial and enamelled turquoise blue within a white border is hung with a padlock, symbolic of sentiment (lot 91). Similarly expressive of affection, is the bunch of pearls and blue forget me knots, a brooch with a reliquary compartment for the hair of a beloved friend or relation, and most emblematic of all, by a snake twisted in several coils with diamond head and tail (lot 27).
As a result of the catastrophic revolution in 1848 all the principal designs of the Romantic period continued well into the next decade. It was not until the 1860's that a distinctively Napoleon III style emerged, and the source for it is the classical jewellery of the Campana collection acquired for the Louvre by the Emperor in 1862. So many exquisite motifs - laurel, amphorae, husks, ivy, - executed in gold filigree and granulation fascinated the jewellers who then rose to the challenge of adapting them to the taste of their clients, which was for the rich and massively splendid. Two of the most successful, Eugene Fontenay and Jules Wièse are exceptionally well represented in this collection. Although obviously inspired by classical jewellery Fontenay's turquoise cameo suite dedicated to the goddess Hera and her attendants, bears the unmistakeable imprint of its own time. The rose diamonds framing the cameos, and the long golden fringes attached to the pendant of the majestically crowned goddess and to the earrings are typical of late nineteenth century taste (lot 80). No other jeweller knew more about the history of this subject than Fontenay, who was the author of the authoritative Les Bijoux Anciens (1887) but Jules Wièse came close to him. At the time of his success at the Great Exhibition held in London in 1862, the Art Journal described him as "at once the artist, the artisan and the merchant himself superintending all the issues of his establishment in the rue de l'Arbre Sec, and sending forth nothing that bears not the stamp of his ciltivated mind." Mrs. Colin's pendant with four cornelian intaglio heads illustrates Wièse's creative talents, for by repeating the heads in the gold cameo impressions behind, he ensured that the jewel could be worn both back and front (lot 84).
Other cameo jewels in the collection show the fashion for black and white onyxes, for wide and heavy bracelets and for lockets to hang from a velvet ribbon high at the neck. Most important too is the archeological necklace made by Carlo Giuliano of London, a protegé of the great Roman jeweller, Alessandro Castellani, who owned the ancient prototype for this intricate design which combined several enamelled rosettes, round discs, ivy leaves and wine jars of different sizes (lot 86). Such jewels were for the rich women of the intelligentia, like the heroine of a novel by Ouida, described as "radiant in amber, black lace and Etruscan ornaments."
The style of Lucien Falize is represented by an enamelled and jewelled pendant close to a design by Paul Birckenhalz (1561-1639) (lot 87). It succeeds in balancing the different elements - opal, pearls, a sapphire and diamonds and enamelled gold - into a harmonious work of art. Also from the Renaissance is the motif of a chimera, now adopted for a necklace, but infused with a vigour closer to the creations of the eighteenth century designer, Nicholas Pineau, than to those of the sixteenth century goldsmiths (lot )
As more and more of the neck and shoulders was revealed by low cut dresses, the necklace became indispensable for evening wear. One such, composed of turquoise and diamond clusters combines the need for strong colour and glitter when worn under the glare of newly introduced electric light (lot ). Similarly, brilliant effects were obtained from chains of diamonds hanging down like streaks of light "en pampilles" from a floral brooch, mounted on a spring for extra sparkle. The same mobility characterises the designs of other naturalistic brooches, executed not only in diamonds but also in gold and turquoises and hung with fringes and aiguillettes which swung with every movement. They belong to the world of The Age of Innocence and The Buccaneers and Edith Wharton, who, like the characters in her novels, bought French clothes and jewellery, would surely have enjoyed reading this catalogue.