細節
IMPORTANT DIAMOND NECKLACE
Designed as two rows of graduated circular-cut diamonds, enhanced in the middle by marquise-cut diamond three-stone motifs, mounted in platinum, the largest eight diamonds in the center weighing approximately 2.29, 2.36, 2.37, 2.76, 2.87, 3.07, 3.32, 3.87 cts. (may be worn as a choker or a bracelet), in a suede fitted case --15½ in. long
By Winston
With certificates 5364800, 5364801, 5364802, 5364803, 5364804, 5364805, 5364806, 5364807 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamonds are G color (near colorless), SI1, G color (near colorless), VS2, F color (colorless), VS2, E color (colorless), VS2, G color (near colorless), VS2, F color (colorless), VS2 and F color (colorless), SI1
CAROLINE RYAN FOULKE
All who knew Caroline Ryan Foulke acknowledged that she was a private person who enjoyed the beauty of life, both in her friendships as well as in her collections. She was not content to live the life of the idle rich. Rather she travelled extensively and, lived in fine houses that she personally decorated with appropriate furnishings, and devoted both her time and her money to philanthropic endeavors.
Caroline Ryan Foulke was born April 8, 1910, daughter of Clendenin and Caroline O'Neil Ryan, But perhaps more importantly, the granddaughter of Thomas Fortune Ryan, a financial baron of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His interests ranged from Wall Street and New York City's vast subway systems, to banking, insurance, and the tobacco industry. He was also reputed to have been the largest private owner of Belgian Congo diamond mines. He owned a townhouse at 858 Fifth Avenue where he amassed a collection of Etruscan bronzes and Renaissance sculpture, and was acknowledged to have one of the finest collections of Limoges enamels. He was a benefactor to many worthy causes; his gifts to the Catholic church amounted to almost $20 million. As Caroline grew older she continued her father's generosity by donating to many organizations, as well as contributing her collections to museums and historic homes.
It was in this atmosphere of enormous wealth that Coroline Ryan Foulke grew up. Her early life was spent in her grandfather's home in New York, and summers at his 5,000 acre estate in Oak Ridge, Virginia, which was run as a farm and dairy but was complete with golf course, race course and train station.
In the early 1920s Caroline attended the fashionable Foxcroft School near Middleburg, Virginia. It was there that she developed an interest in riding and sailing, activities that she would enjoy for the rest of her life. While at the school she attended studio art classes, producing sculpture some of which survives at the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, Stratford Hall Plantation.
As a child Caroline travelled extensively with her parents, always returning to New York, which she thought of as her home until her marriage to Jack Shaw in 1930. The couple moved to Baltimore where she actively participated in equestrian events. The marriage lasted but a few years and Caroline returned to New York, resuming her travels abroad.
After her father's death in 1939 Caroline's mother moved to a new apartment in New York City, furnishing it with the finest eighteenth century American decorative arts. She was one of the earliest collectors to break with the tradition of decorating a New York apartment solely with exceptional French and English furniture. An article in The Magazine Antiques from 1942 featured her apartment, commenting "Mrs Ryan's special taste is for American furniture....and she has a collector's eye" for design. She sought expert advice when selecting appropriate period furniture, a dictum that her daughter would follow as she amassed her own collection.
During the second world war Caroline moved to San Francisco, following her second husband, who was stationed on a destroyer escort, bound for the Far East. She joined the American Red Cross traveling to London, where she was known to have "thrown her mink coat over her uniform" and worked long grueling hours as a hostess at the American officers' club. She moved into the Ritz, opening the doors of her apartment to the enlisted men as a haven during war time.
After the war she returned to her New York apartment at 720 Park Avenue, marrying Calvin Pardee Foulke, and although the marriage did not last, she retained his name for the rest of her life. She furnished this apartment with eighteenth century American furniture in much the same manner as her mother's home, much of which has been subseqently donated to the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, owner of Stratford Hall Plantation. She also made generous donations for preservation and conservation to the historic home as well as giving 400 head of black Angus cattle to their farm operation.
Caroline acquired important American paintings by such prominent artists as Homer, Sargent, Whistler, and Eakins. Her portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale is on loan to the American Embassy in Paris and the American museum in Britain at Bath was a recipient of other gifts.
Sometime in the late 1940s Caroline started collecting jewelry from the major houses, and like her mother, always turned to experts for guidance when buying important pieces. It was Harry Winston, America's "King of Diamonds," who always advised her and to whom she turned when making important diamond purchases. This relationship did not stop her from buying baubles that caught her fancy during her travels abroad or from shopping at Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, David Webb or Verdura. She was a woman who had the means to buy whatever caught her fancy, but she bought with a connoisseur's eye, much in the same manner her mother had done when buying eighteenth century furniture. Like her other collecting endeavors, she viewed jewelry as an art form and only purchased those items that were aesthetically pleasing. She bought only the best; her jewelry was set with the finest gemstones. Her diamond jewelry always accented her wardrobe, never overpowering it.
Caroline Foulke's other interests included motoring and yachting, and she and her friends travelled extensively. Paris in the spring, Baden-Baden in the summer and Florida in the fall. She motored across Europe and America in the Mercedes and a Bentley she had custom designed in the late 1950's. In 1946, she was made a Lady associate member of the New York Yacht Club, retaining her membership until 1986, shortly before her death. She owned several yachts; the most noted was the Versatile which she purchased from Harold Vanderbilt.
Caroline's uncle, Albert O'Neil (her mother's brother) lived just outside of Paris. She often visited him, establishing a lifelong love for this beautiful country, especially its architecture and culture. In 1960, she bought an apartment in Paris at 24 Avenue Gabriel, next to the American Embassy, furnishing it with eighteenth century French furniture.
As she grew older Caroline found the climate in New York to be unbearable, so in 1967 she sold her apartment, moving her residence to Palm Beach where she built her home with its gardens running down to the water which had the added advantage of dockage for her yacht.
Caroline Ryan Foulke passed away in July 1987. She was one of the last rare breed of woman in this century who combined taste, culture, philanthropy and civic duty. She loved to travel, socialize with her friends, and collect beautiful objects. She had the taste and the money to appease her every wish and we should be thankful that she left so many of her collections for future generations to enjoy.
Designed as two rows of graduated circular-cut diamonds, enhanced in the middle by marquise-cut diamond three-stone motifs, mounted in platinum, the largest eight diamonds in the center weighing approximately 2.29, 2.36, 2.37, 2.76, 2.87, 3.07, 3.32, 3.87 cts. (may be worn as a choker or a bracelet), in a suede fitted case --15½ in. long
By Winston
With certificates 5364800, 5364801, 5364802, 5364803, 5364804, 5364805, 5364806, 5364807 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamonds are G color (near colorless), SI1, G color (near colorless), VS2, F color (colorless), VS2, E color (colorless), VS2, G color (near colorless), VS2, F color (colorless), VS2 and F color (colorless), SI1
CAROLINE RYAN FOULKE
All who knew Caroline Ryan Foulke acknowledged that she was a private person who enjoyed the beauty of life, both in her friendships as well as in her collections. She was not content to live the life of the idle rich. Rather she travelled extensively and, lived in fine houses that she personally decorated with appropriate furnishings, and devoted both her time and her money to philanthropic endeavors.
Caroline Ryan Foulke was born April 8, 1910, daughter of Clendenin and Caroline O'Neil Ryan, But perhaps more importantly, the granddaughter of Thomas Fortune Ryan, a financial baron of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His interests ranged from Wall Street and New York City's vast subway systems, to banking, insurance, and the tobacco industry. He was also reputed to have been the largest private owner of Belgian Congo diamond mines. He owned a townhouse at 858 Fifth Avenue where he amassed a collection of Etruscan bronzes and Renaissance sculpture, and was acknowledged to have one of the finest collections of Limoges enamels. He was a benefactor to many worthy causes; his gifts to the Catholic church amounted to almost $20 million. As Caroline grew older she continued her father's generosity by donating to many organizations, as well as contributing her collections to museums and historic homes.
It was in this atmosphere of enormous wealth that Coroline Ryan Foulke grew up. Her early life was spent in her grandfather's home in New York, and summers at his 5,000 acre estate in Oak Ridge, Virginia, which was run as a farm and dairy but was complete with golf course, race course and train station.
In the early 1920s Caroline attended the fashionable Foxcroft School near Middleburg, Virginia. It was there that she developed an interest in riding and sailing, activities that she would enjoy for the rest of her life. While at the school she attended studio art classes, producing sculpture some of which survives at the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, Stratford Hall Plantation.
As a child Caroline travelled extensively with her parents, always returning to New York, which she thought of as her home until her marriage to Jack Shaw in 1930. The couple moved to Baltimore where she actively participated in equestrian events. The marriage lasted but a few years and Caroline returned to New York, resuming her travels abroad.
After her father's death in 1939 Caroline's mother moved to a new apartment in New York City, furnishing it with the finest eighteenth century American decorative arts. She was one of the earliest collectors to break with the tradition of decorating a New York apartment solely with exceptional French and English furniture. An article in The Magazine Antiques from 1942 featured her apartment, commenting "Mrs Ryan's special taste is for American furniture....and she has a collector's eye" for design. She sought expert advice when selecting appropriate period furniture, a dictum that her daughter would follow as she amassed her own collection.
During the second world war Caroline moved to San Francisco, following her second husband, who was stationed on a destroyer escort, bound for the Far East. She joined the American Red Cross traveling to London, where she was known to have "thrown her mink coat over her uniform" and worked long grueling hours as a hostess at the American officers' club. She moved into the Ritz, opening the doors of her apartment to the enlisted men as a haven during war time.
After the war she returned to her New York apartment at 720 Park Avenue, marrying Calvin Pardee Foulke, and although the marriage did not last, she retained his name for the rest of her life. She furnished this apartment with eighteenth century American furniture in much the same manner as her mother's home, much of which has been subseqently donated to the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, owner of Stratford Hall Plantation. She also made generous donations for preservation and conservation to the historic home as well as giving 400 head of black Angus cattle to their farm operation.
Caroline acquired important American paintings by such prominent artists as Homer, Sargent, Whistler, and Eakins. Her portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale is on loan to the American Embassy in Paris and the American museum in Britain at Bath was a recipient of other gifts.
Sometime in the late 1940s Caroline started collecting jewelry from the major houses, and like her mother, always turned to experts for guidance when buying important pieces. It was Harry Winston, America's "King of Diamonds," who always advised her and to whom she turned when making important diamond purchases. This relationship did not stop her from buying baubles that caught her fancy during her travels abroad or from shopping at Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, David Webb or Verdura. She was a woman who had the means to buy whatever caught her fancy, but she bought with a connoisseur's eye, much in the same manner her mother had done when buying eighteenth century furniture. Like her other collecting endeavors, she viewed jewelry as an art form and only purchased those items that were aesthetically pleasing. She bought only the best; her jewelry was set with the finest gemstones. Her diamond jewelry always accented her wardrobe, never overpowering it.
Caroline Foulke's other interests included motoring and yachting, and she and her friends travelled extensively. Paris in the spring, Baden-Baden in the summer and Florida in the fall. She motored across Europe and America in the Mercedes and a Bentley she had custom designed in the late 1950's. In 1946, she was made a Lady associate member of the New York Yacht Club, retaining her membership until 1986, shortly before her death. She owned several yachts; the most noted was the Versatile which she purchased from Harold Vanderbilt.
Caroline's uncle, Albert O'Neil (her mother's brother) lived just outside of Paris. She often visited him, establishing a lifelong love for this beautiful country, especially its architecture and culture. In 1960, she bought an apartment in Paris at 24 Avenue Gabriel, next to the American Embassy, furnishing it with eighteenth century French furniture.
As she grew older Caroline found the climate in New York to be unbearable, so in 1967 she sold her apartment, moving her residence to Palm Beach where she built her home with its gardens running down to the water which had the added advantage of dockage for her yacht.
Caroline Ryan Foulke passed away in July 1987. She was one of the last rare breed of woman in this century who combined taste, culture, philanthropy and civic duty. She loved to travel, socialize with her friends, and collect beautiful objects. She had the taste and the money to appease her every wish and we should be thankful that she left so many of her collections for future generations to enjoy.