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Comte d'Epinay de Briort Art Nouveau Medal-Jewel "Habillé" Pendant Brooch and Chain
$6,500
Created circa 1900, this Art Nouveau medal-jewel habillé is composed of 18K gold and diamonds, designed and engraved by the Comte d'Epinay de Briort. The medal-jewel bears an image of a young woman with upswept hair wearing rose-cut diamond earrings, necklace and aigrette, and a ruffled gown, suspended from a detachable 18K gold ropetwist chain. Sculptural and exquisite in detail, this small but substantial medal-jewel by a prominent French sculptor evokes the spirit of youth and beauty.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: N-20871
Artist: Prosper, Comte d'Epinay de Briort
Country: France
Circa: 1900
Dimensions: Medal: 1.25" diameter; Chain: 20.5" length
Materials: 10 rose-cut diamonds; 18K Gold
Signed: French assay marks, artist's monogram, makers mark "HM"
Documentation: Medallist work by Prosper, Comte d'Epinay, is pictured in Art Nouveau Jewelry, by Vivienne Becker, fig. 145.
Born in Mauritius, the Comte d'Epinay de Briort had a varied career in Paris, London and Rome as an artist, sculptor, medallist, engraver, jeweler, and, secretly, a wicked caricaturist of European political, literary and society figures. His cartoons were published in Vanity Fair from 1868 until the time of his death. A skilled sculptor and engraver who understood the mechanical method of reducing a detailed hand engraving ("tour à réduire") to jewel size, his work was eagerly sought by the French maisons to satisfy the demand for "medal-jewels" that caught fire in the 1880s. Maison Boucheron frequently commissioned Prosper to complete orders for its "medalliste" jewels.