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Lot 8121
Hematite and Ruby Box
4 December 2005, 11:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$4,465 inc. premium
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By Nardi
Gioielleria Nardi embodies the traditions of the 18th-century Venetian goldsmiths. The firm is famous for its Blackamoor brooches, which were first created in 1930, and signed by Giulio or Sergio Nardi. While inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello, these brooches, as well as Nardi’s other jeweled creations, are rich in Oriental and antique influences and evoke the unique spirit of Venice. Nardi maintains salons in Padua, and in the Piazza San Marco, Venice.
This unusual and opulently decorated rectangular box is formed of polished hematite of deep gunmetal grey-black color. A gold-plated cast of an actual Tridacna shell (a bivalve mollusk) graces its lid with twenty-five circular-cut rich red rubies set pavilion side up—randomly scattered like pebbles on a beach. The box is mounted with 18K yellow gold. The lid is hinged, revealing an interior lined with green onyx veined with brown. Measuring 7 ¼ x 5 ¼ x 2 ½ in.
Gioielleria Nardi embodies the traditions of the 18th-century Venetian goldsmiths. The firm is famous for its Blackamoor brooches, which were first created in 1930, and signed by Giulio or Sergio Nardi. While inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello, these brooches, as well as Nardi’s other jeweled creations, are rich in Oriental and antique influences and evoke the unique spirit of Venice. Nardi maintains salons in Padua, and in the Piazza San Marco, Venice.
This unusual and opulently decorated rectangular box is formed of polished hematite of deep gunmetal grey-black color. A gold-plated cast of an actual Tridacna shell (a bivalve mollusk) graces its lid with twenty-five circular-cut rich red rubies set pavilion side up—randomly scattered like pebbles on a beach. The box is mounted with 18K yellow gold. The lid is hinged, revealing an interior lined with green onyx veined with brown. Measuring 7 ¼ x 5 ¼ x 2 ½ in.