Jennifer Tonkin
Co-Head of Department UK
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Lot 114
ART NOUVEAU ENAMEL AND DIAMOND PLAQUE DE COU, CIRCA 1890, MOUNTED AS A BRACELET, BY G T MARSH & CO, CIRCA 1930
2 December 2021, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£40,000 - £60,000
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Kate Flitcroft
Co-Head of Department UK
ART NOUVEAU ENAMEL AND DIAMOND PLAQUE DE COU, CIRCA 1890, MOUNTED AS A BRACELET, BY G T MARSH & CO, CIRCA 1930
The convex plaque, circa 1890, of rectangular outline, decorated with chrysanthemum blooms in iridescent yellow and orange enamel, amongst meandering old brilliant and single-cut diamond stems, on a green plique-á-jour enamel ground, mounted in yellow gold, on a silver gilt bracelet mount, circa 1930, with engraved chrysanthemum motif decoration, plaque with French assay mark, bracelet stamped GT Marsh & Co, dimensions of plaque 6.6 x 4.5cm
Footnotes
George Turner Marsh, founded his pioneering Asian art business, the Japanese Art Repository, in 1876 in the San Francisco Bay Area and went one to become on of the City's most famous sons. Marsh was fascinated by Eastern culture and in the 1930s created original oriental-inspired jewels, often combining pearls, coral and jade with highly unusual black patinated steel. This bracelet diverges from the norm - the centrepiece is a French Art Nouveau plaque, most probably from the centrepiece of a late 19th century collier de chien (dog collar) necklace. The chrysanthemum motif, a favourite device of Art Nouveau jewellers and emblematic of Japan, would no doubt have appealed to Marsh who updated the jewel in the 1930s by creating a silver gilt bracelet mount with engraved sides mirroring the enamel design.