Marcus & Co. Retro Sunflower Brooch
Composed of platinum and fancy-cut, multi-color gemstones, this oversized Retro flower brooch by Marcus & Co. dates from c. 1941-1942. The highly three-dimensional flower centers a pavé-set field of spessartite garnets, framed by topaz, set upon a leafy stem of tourmalines, accented by a pentagonal-cut tourmaline bud. A late representation of the firm's famous flower jewel series, this voluminous sunflower of fiery orange garnets and shining pink topaz petals is a brilliant statement of bold, wartime-era style and confidence.
Item #: BO-21563
Artist: Marcus & Co.
Circa: 1941-1942
Dimensions: 3.75" length, 3.00" width
Materials: 64 circular-cut spessartite garnets; 25 baguette-cut pink topaz; 22 French-cut, 5 pear-shape, 11 baguette, and three calibré-cut green tourmalines; 1 pentagonal pink tourmaline; Platinum
Signed: MARCUS O[P]7557
Documentation: The design drawing for this clip brooch can be found at the Morse Museum archive.
Item #: BO-21563
Artist: Marcus & Co.
Circa: 1941-1942
Dimensions: 3.75" length, 3.00" width
Materials: 64 circular-cut spessartite garnets; 25 baguette-cut pink topaz; 22 French-cut, 5 pear-shape, 11 baguette, and three calibré-cut green tourmalines; 1 pentagonal pink tourmaline; Platinum
Signed: MARCUS O[P]7557
Documentation: The design drawing for this clip brooch can be found at the Morse Museum archive.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Marcus & Co. had forged ties with Parisian jewelers, meeting with Henri Vever in 1893, and selling at least one Lalique jewel to the Wade family, founders of Western Union. Their virtuoso plique-à-jour flowers, two of which are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Newark Museum, may have been the fruit of a collaboration with Parisian enamelists. The emergence of the international flower style in the late 1930s, led by Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris, was a natural pivot for Marcus, who designed a garden of oversize gem-set flowers including orchids, lily of the valley, gardenias, roses, starting in 1936. This stylized sunflower is among the last of Marcus & Co.'s jewels produced before one of the brothers retired, and the firm closed.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Marcus & Co. had forged ties with Parisian jewelers, meeting with Henri Vever in 1893, and selling at least one Lalique jewel to the Wade family, founders of Western Union. Their virtuoso plique-à-jour flowers, two of which are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Newark Museum, may have been the fruit of a collaboration with Parisian enamelists. The emergence of the international flower style in the late 1930s, led by Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris, was a natural pivot for Marcus, who designed a garden of oversize gem-set flowers including orchids, lily of the valley, gardenias, roses, starting in 1936. This stylized sunflower is among the last of Marcus & Co.'s jewels produced before one of the brothers retired, and the firm closed.
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