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Lot 1401

Black Opal Rondelle Bead Necklace

26 – 27 October 2020, 11:00 PDT
Los Angeles

Sold for US$2,422.50 inc. premium

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Black Opal Rondelle Bead Necklace

Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia
A single strand necklace comprising rondel-form black opal beads having a dark body color and bright green and blue play-of-fire, graduating from 12.0 to 5.0 mm and weighing approximately 345.5 carats, completed by a magnetic silver clasp, length 24 in

Footnotes

GLORIA MANNEY

Every curator, dealer and auctioneer who has met Gloria Manney called her "one of a kind" or said, "they don't make 'em like her anymore." She was a voracious collector with a style, intelligence, curiosity, courage and point of view all her own.

Along with her husband, Richard Manney, they researched and collected an amazing array of material culture and built entire markets for objects by aiding scholars in their work, including rare books and 18th and 19th Century fine and decorative arts. Their collections included the greatest assemblages of American portrait miniatures and American colonial gold smithing, both now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their furniture resides at Winterthur, The Met and The Art Institute of Chicago.

But above all the objects in their lives, Opals were Gloria's first and foremost passion from childhood. They were her birthstone, her playthings, and her favorite adornment. No opal passed her by, as she believed every opal needed a home. A magpie by nature, their beauty entranced her. Gloria worked with dealers and auctioneers around the world to find opals. And the opals found her.

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