Jennifer Tonkin
Co-Head of Department UK
Lot 20
A GOLD AND ENAMEL BRACELET, FRENCH, CIRCA 1880
28 April 2021, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£8,000 - £12,000
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Marina Vieira
Specialist
A GOLD AND ENAMEL BRACELET, FRENCH, CIRCA 1880
Designed as a series of seven circular enamel profiles painted en grisaille with polychrome enamel highlights, depicting busts of Classical or 16th-17th century figures, including busts of Artemis and Hermes, each within a meandering garland surround, accented by rose-cut rubies, three rubies deficient, maker's mark EM, French assay marks, some enamels signed MP and M. Puisoye, length 17.1cm
Footnotes
The profiles in this bracelet are by the miniature painter and enamellist, Marie Puisoye (1855-1942) who was a student of the enamellist, Claudius Popelin. The French jeweller, Lucien Falize is known to have worked with a number of freelance enamellists who supplied the French jewellery trade and moved in the same circles. One of these collaborators was Popelin. He learnt his craft from Alfred Meyer and Popelin's book, "L'Émail des Peintres" of 1866 was a great source of inspiration to Paul Grandhomme. Both Meyer and Grandhomme collaborated with Lucien Falize and produced very similar enamel plaques to those seen in the present lot. See Purcell, K. "Falize A Dynasty of Jewellers, London, 1999, pp.66, 106 and 176, ill.figs. 86, 153 and 255 for examples dating between 1878 and 1885.
The delicacy and asymmetry of the floral and foliate motifs in this bracelet are indicative of the heightened naturalism of the Art Nouveau movement that would follow.
