Property of an Ojai, California Collector
Lot 86
An 18k gold and ruby butterfly brooch,
Van Cleef & Arpels, French, circa 1940
26 September 2019, 13:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$81,325 inc. premium
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An 18k gold and ruby butterfly brooch, Van Cleef & Arpels, French, circa 1940
modelled as an articulated butterfly, the brooch created in gold with collet-set square, triangular and cabochon rubies; signed Van Cleef & Arpels, no. 46759, with French assay marks; gross weight approximately: 46.50 grams; length: 4 1/2in.
Footnotes
To view an original drawing of the piece, dated 1937, please see the Van Cleef & Arpels website, under 'Signature Butterflies'.
Fashion and jewelry in the 1940s was influenced by the privations of World War II. Materials were restricted, so most jewelry was created from gold and small or reused stones, and forms were often restrained. Van Cleef & Arpels found exuberance in designs such as the ballerina, fairy, and butterfly that have become icons of the firm and are still made in modern ways today. The creative use of scoring in the polished gold on this butterfly brooch is a subtle and clever use of the material, as is the body created of graduated ruby segments. Jewelry in the 1940s needed to be versatile, and this exquisite brooch would be equally at home on suit jacket, sweater, or on the shoulder of an evening gown.
Courtesy of Sarah Davis