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PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF ELEANOR LAMBERT
Eleanor Lambert's legendary eye for quality made her a central twentieth century icon in the world of fashion, where her genius for publicity brought the American fashion industry she championed for seventy years from relative obscurity to center stage.
She sought out great quality not only in fashion design but in friendships and in everything that surrounded her in her vast New York apartment overlooking the reservoir in Central Park.
Eleanor Lambert loved the hunt for the exceptional, for the perfect view, the perfect garden, the perfect food, for the best in textiles, table furnishings, objects.
I have jumped into a car at 5:30 in the morning with Eleanor to careen across Ireland to see the sunrise shining through the stone corridor of a buried Druid temple where the sun's rays only penetrate right to the center stone once every six months. I have spent hours in the Paris flea market on a crushingly hot 104o day searching for the antique lace-bordered bed linens she so loved. (Eleanor undaunted by the heat.) I have watched her select fruits and vegetables in the markets of San Miguel de Allende with the care she would have given to selecting jewels and accessories for a fashion shoot, and I have helped her exhaust the ample resources of Venice's jewelers to find the perfect blackamoor brooch to add to her "signature" collection.
At the suggestion that I was a great collector, Eleanor once quipped, "He's not a collector; he's an acquisitor!"
She was also a great acquisitor. She loved to shop, and the interiors of her Fifth Avenue apartment were bursting with her "finds". However filled a wall or tabletop, there was always a space for yet another piece of Irish Delft, Chelsea floral porcelain, or Hester Bateman silver, or for a Chinese glass painting. These were watched over by countless artworks offered by her friends, who through the years included Cecil Beaton, Pavel Tchelitchew, Salvador Dali, Isamu Naguchi, Rockwell Kent, Marcel Verths, Christian Birard, Larry Rivers, Alex Katz.
Her enthusiasm for "antiquing" never flagged. Shortly before her one-hundredth birthday, she was still collecting unusual table furnishings on the basis that they "might come in handy." Her collections brought such texture and personality to those great interiors where she had received everyone from Greta Garbo to Prince Edward. There was nothing quite like Eleanor Lambert's home, just as there was no one quite like Eleanor Lambert.
John Loring
New York
May 14, 2004
A LARGE GROUP OF COSTUME JEWELRY
Details
A LARGE GROUP OF COSTUME JEWELRY
Comprising a simulated emerald and diamond bracelet, (illustrated), 8¼ ins.; a pair of simulated emerald and diamond ear clips, (illustrated); a simulated coral branch, diamond and onyx brooch, (illustrated); a simulated topaz and diamond flower brooch, (illustrated); a pair of simulated gemstone and enamel blackamoor ear clips, (illustrated), a simulated gemstone snake ring, (illustrated); a simulated diamond buckle brooch, (illustrated); a gilt-metal and simulated diamond elephant brooch, (illustrated); two simulated emerald and diamond necklaces, one with a pair of ear clips en suite, (one illustrated), 16¾ and 16½ ins.; nine simulated diamond necklaces, (one illustrated), 15, 16, 50, 52, 54, 30, 33, 35, 52¾ and 34½ ins.; an enamel and simulated gemstone articulated lizard brooch; a simulated coral and diamond flower brooch; a simulated peridot and diamond pendant and ear pendants en suite; a simulated diamond and pearl plaque brooch; a red plastic heart pendant; a silver gilt onion pencil sharpener; a wood and rock crystal necklace, 30½ ins.; a gilt metal heart keychain; two simulated diamond bracelets, 6 1/8 and 7½ ins.; a simulated jadeite, diamond and enamel brooch; a simulated gemstone Maltese cross brooch; a pair of gilt-metal ear clips; two pairs of simulated mabé pearl ear clips; a pair of enamel, simulated peridot and diamond ear clips; two wire-wrapped hardstone pendants and a wire-wrapped bead necklace; a pair of simulated yellow diamond ear pendants; a simulated gemstone Venetian mask pin; a gold and garnet bead butterfly necklace, 17½ ins.; five pairs of simulated gemstone, gilt metal and silver gilt ear clips; a plastic snake stick pin; an amethyst and silver ring; a two-strand simulated pearl necklace, 18½ ins.; a simulated cameo ring; and a gem-set scarf holder, (many with damage and stones deficient)
Signed Trifari, Kenneth Lane, KJL for Kenneth J. Lane, Lunch at the Ritz, Cadoro, Yves Saint Laurent, Ciner, Swarovski and Chanel; one no. E2658 (56)
Comprising a simulated emerald and diamond bracelet, (illustrated), 8¼ ins.; a pair of simulated emerald and diamond ear clips, (illustrated); a simulated coral branch, diamond and onyx brooch, (illustrated); a simulated topaz and diamond flower brooch, (illustrated); a pair of simulated gemstone and enamel blackamoor ear clips, (illustrated), a simulated gemstone snake ring, (illustrated); a simulated diamond buckle brooch, (illustrated); a gilt-metal and simulated diamond elephant brooch, (illustrated); two simulated emerald and diamond necklaces, one with a pair of ear clips en suite, (one illustrated), 16¾ and 16½ ins.; nine simulated diamond necklaces, (one illustrated), 15, 16, 50, 52, 54, 30, 33, 35, 52¾ and 34½ ins.; an enamel and simulated gemstone articulated lizard brooch; a simulated coral and diamond flower brooch; a simulated peridot and diamond pendant and ear pendants en suite; a simulated diamond and pearl plaque brooch; a red plastic heart pendant; a silver gilt onion pencil sharpener; a wood and rock crystal necklace, 30½ ins.; a gilt metal heart keychain; two simulated diamond bracelets, 6 1/8 and 7½ ins.; a simulated jadeite, diamond and enamel brooch; a simulated gemstone Maltese cross brooch; a pair of gilt-metal ear clips; two pairs of simulated mabé pearl ear clips; a pair of enamel, simulated peridot and diamond ear clips; two wire-wrapped hardstone pendants and a wire-wrapped bead necklace; a pair of simulated yellow diamond ear pendants; a simulated gemstone Venetian mask pin; a gold and garnet bead butterfly necklace, 17½ ins.; five pairs of simulated gemstone, gilt metal and silver gilt ear clips; a plastic snake stick pin; an amethyst and silver ring; a two-strand simulated pearl necklace, 18½ ins.; a simulated cameo ring; and a gem-set scarf holder, (many with damage and stones deficient)
Signed Trifari, Kenneth Lane, KJL for Kenneth J. Lane, Lunch at the Ritz, Cadoro, Yves Saint Laurent, Ciner, Swarovski and Chanel; one no. E2658 (56)