Marcus & Co. Art Nouveau Enamel Orchid Pendant
Created circa 1906, likely as a collaboration of French and American workshops, and designed by George Marcus, this Marcus & Co. plique-à-jour enamel, diamond and conch pearl cattleya orchid pendant is mounted in platinum-topped 18K gold. The orchid of five rippled and curling leaves hangs from intertwined diamond tendrils, and suspends trailing natural conch pearl buds on articulated diamond stems. Highly three dimensional, the jewel exhibits the complexity, delicacy and fragility of a real blossom with its nuanced shades of coloration. This Art Nouveau tour-de-force of virtuoso technique and sensitive naturalism belongs to a small group of art works by Marcus that is unique in American and French artistic jewelry.
Item #: N-21567
Artist: Marcus & Co.
Country: United States and likely France
Circa: 1906
Dimensions: 4.25" length; 2.75" width; 1.25" depth
Materials: 116 old mine and rose-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 4.75 carats); 4 conch pearls (measuring approximately 9.00 x 5.00mm); Plique-à-jour enamel; Platinum-topped 18K gold.
Signed: MARCUS & CO. 18K, O3808
Documentation: A preliminary pencil sketch for this design appears in the Marcus & Co. archival volumes housed at Dartmouth's Rauner Library, Brooches and Pendants No. 2, image 111.
Literature: This orchid brooch is pictured in Marcus & Co.: Three Generations of New York Jewelers, p. 168. Additionally, the brooch was appears in American Jewelry: Glamor and Tradition, by Penny Proddow and Deborah Healy, 1987, p. 53, no. 24 and The Pink Pearl, by David Federman and Hubert Bari. Italy: Skira, 2007, p. 81, and Jewelry in America, 1600-1900, Martha Gandy Fales. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1995, p. 394.
Item #: N-21567
Artist: Marcus & Co.
Country: United States and likely France
Circa: 1906
Dimensions: 4.25" length; 2.75" width; 1.25" depth
Materials: 116 old mine and rose-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 4.75 carats); 4 conch pearls (measuring approximately 9.00 x 5.00mm); Plique-à-jour enamel; Platinum-topped 18K gold.
Signed: MARCUS & CO. 18K, O3808
Documentation: A preliminary pencil sketch for this design appears in the Marcus & Co. archival volumes housed at Dartmouth's Rauner Library, Brooches and Pendants No. 2, image 111.
Literature: This orchid brooch is pictured in Marcus & Co.: Three Generations of New York Jewelers, p. 168. Additionally, the brooch was appears in American Jewelry: Glamor and Tradition, by Penny Proddow and Deborah Healy, 1987, p. 53, no. 24 and The Pink Pearl, by David Federman and Hubert Bari. Italy: Skira, 2007, p. 81, and Jewelry in America, 1600-1900, Martha Gandy Fales. Woodbridge: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1995, p. 394.
The second generation of the Marcus family jewelers, George and William,generally visited Europe twice a year. George, the firm's lead designer, was an outgoing, convivial man blessed with a deft, artistic hand. The family were keen observers of the work of French jewelers, and early adherents of the art of René Lalique. As early as 1895, they had placed a Lalique figural jewel in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Jeptha H. Wade, daring art lovers whose fortune derived from Western Union. In 1893, Marcus were honored by a visit from Henri Vever, who selected the firm's superior work and design for special mention in his report to the French government on American competitors. The New York jewelry design, manufacturing and retail sectors were characterized by complex inter-relations among skilled practitioners, and Marcus took part in every aspect of the trade. In the case of this astonishing pendant, as well as the hazelnut, iris, fuchsia, geranium, and sweet pea jewels, it is likely that, using connections made through Vever or Lalique, they took their designs to Paris to collaborate with teams of French artisans, importing the complex jewels in parts into the US for later full assembly in their own workshops. In 1906, a journalist from Town & Country recorded the astonishment this small but blockbuster collection of plique-à-jour enamel flowers had caused, as wealthy customers stood on the side walk and gaped at these blossoms, interrupting the flow of pedestrians on Fifth Avenue.
The second generation of the Marcus family jewelers, George and William,generally visited Europe twice a year. George, the firm's lead designer, was an outgoing, convivial man blessed with a deft, artistic hand. The family were keen observers of the work of French jewelers, and early adherents of the art of René Lalique. As early as 1895, they had placed a Lalique figural jewel in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Jeptha H. Wade, daring art lovers whose fortune derived from Western Union. In 1893, Marcus were honored by a visit from Henri Vever, who selected the firm's superior work and design for special mention in his report to the French government on American competitors. The New York jewelry design, manufacturing and retail sectors were characterized by complex inter-relations among skilled practitioners, and Marcus took part in every aspect of the trade. In the case of this astonishing pendant, as well as the hazelnut, iris, fuchsia, geranium, and sweet pea jewels, it is likely that, using connections made through Vever or Lalique, they took their designs to Paris to collaborate with teams of French artisans, importing the complex jewels in parts into the US for later full assembly in their own workshops. In 1906, a journalist from Town & Country recorded the astonishment this small but blockbuster collection of plique-à-jour enamel flowers had caused, as wealthy customers stood on the side walk and gaped at these blossoms, interrupting the flow of pedestrians on Fifth Avenue.
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