Lot 230
California Pink Tourmaline "Gem Tree" by Ed Swoboda
10 – 11 August 2020, 10:00 PDT
Los AngelesSold for US$2,167.50 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Lapidary Works of Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Client Services (New York)
Client Services (Los Angeles)
California Pink Tourmaline "Gem Tree" by Ed Swoboda
Circa 1978
Stewart Mine, Pala District, San Diego County, California
Fabricated circa 1978 by the mine owner, Ed Swoboda, this attractive "gem tree" was one of the first ever to be produced. Extra care was taken in choosing matching stones from the owner's mine, an in paying for a rich and quality 18K gold vermeil filigree work for the branches. It graced the entrace to the offices of the mine for over 30 years in the company collection. Formed of gold vermeil with realistic texturing to the trunk and branches, the tree suspends clusters of bubble-gum pink San Diego tourmalines resembling some exotic fruit, while the tree is firmly rooted in a landscape suggested by the quartz crystal point, pink touramline crystals and associated purple lepidolite. This is a rare collectible associated with California mineralogical history, commissioned and owned by one of the greatest field collectors of the 20th Century. There are of course many "gem trees" for sale, but few with the stature or history such as this known piece. Measuring 9 1/2 x 6 x 5 in
Stewart Mine, Pala District, San Diego County, California
Fabricated circa 1978 by the mine owner, Ed Swoboda, this attractive "gem tree" was one of the first ever to be produced. Extra care was taken in choosing matching stones from the owner's mine, an in paying for a rich and quality 18K gold vermeil filigree work for the branches. It graced the entrace to the offices of the mine for over 30 years in the company collection. Formed of gold vermeil with realistic texturing to the trunk and branches, the tree suspends clusters of bubble-gum pink San Diego tourmalines resembling some exotic fruit, while the tree is firmly rooted in a landscape suggested by the quartz crystal point, pink touramline crystals and associated purple lepidolite. This is a rare collectible associated with California mineralogical history, commissioned and owned by one of the greatest field collectors of the 20th Century. There are of course many "gem trees" for sale, but few with the stature or history such as this known piece. Measuring 9 1/2 x 6 x 5 in
Footnotes
Provenance:
Ex. Ed Swoboda Collection, Beverly Hills, California
Ex. Bill Larson Collection, Fallbrook, California
Ex. Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection. Purchased from Bonhams, sale 18406, lot 1367, December 12, 2010
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/18406/lot/1367/
Gerard L. Cafesjian
A passion for art was a driving interest for Gerard L. Cafesjian throughout his life. Born in 1925 in Brooklyn, New York to Armenian immigrant parents, he first served in the U.S. Navy before attending university where he graduated with joint degrees in Geology and Economics from Hunter College and later a Juris Doctor degree from St. John's University School of Law.
In 1952, he began what evolved into a four decades-long career with West Publishing Company, the world's largest publisher of legal materials. Rising through the ranks, he eventually became a member of the Board. It was in this capacity that he initiated a nationally recognized annual art exhibition called "Art and Law" for which he received the prestigious Business in the Arts Award.
Upon his retirement in 1996, he founded the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona. Opened in 1999, it is dedicated to exhibiting modern works of art, design and architecture.
He often said publicly that he felt his destiny was to help the country of Armenia, therefore he established a family foundation that has donated millions to various Armenian charities. In the early 2000s, he set his sights on an enormous, unfinished and crumbling Soviet structure in downtown Yerevan that centered on a massive staircase with fountains, known as the "Cascade". Its renovation and expansion resulted in the creation of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, which, upon its inauguration in 2009, was touted by the New York Times Art and Design reporter as being a modern-day "Hanging Gardens of Armenia". Known for its world-class sculpture garden, it features works by Fernando Botero, among others. Admission to this cultural focal point of Yerevan is nominal or free for some exhibits, and after 10 years, it has welcomed over one million visitors and given the entire nation an up-lift.
Mr. Cafesjian's impressive collection of Lapidary Works of Art, gemstones and minerals began with a childhood fascination with geology that later evolved into his broader passion for Fine Art. Over the years, he developed personal relationships with world-renowned sculptors in Idar-Oberstein, Germany and with Mr. Andreas von Zadora-Gerlof of Canada. He even commissioned
lapidary works directly from these artists and supported their efforts with his patronage. Mr. Cafesjian's love of gemology, color and form is reflected throughout these pages and Bonhams is honored to handle his fine collection.
