Yellow & white gold, pink topaz, diamond

W  5.00cm (1.97 in)  |  L  6.50cm (2.56 in)

'Eosphoros' An Important Art Jewel Brooch. Source piece, February 1963
113 wonderful jewels were created by Georges Braque in the last year of his life, in collaboration with his friend Baron Heger de Löwenfeld (1919- 2000) lapidary and gem cutter. Braque had longed to translate the major themes of his paintings into three-dimensional art objects. The jewels are therefore the embodiment of the last adventure of this great artist's life. In 'Eosphoros' the bird, Braque's symbol of Space and Time, was freed from its caged existence within a picture frame.

Provenance
Metamorphoses, A Collection of Jewels by G. Braque executed by Baron Heger de Loewenfeld, Christies, Geneva 1991, catalogue number 423

Exhibitions
The jewels were exhibited to great critical acclaim at the Musée de Louvre in March 1963 under the title 'Cent Bijoux de Georges Braque'.
Le Monde referred to the jewels as 'short poems'. The New York Herald Tribune wrote; '(the pieces) are simple, devastatingly beautiful and have the mystery of Braque symbols at their best'

Literature
Illustrated in our book:
Beatriz Chadour-Sampson & Sonya Newell-Smith, Tadema Gallery London Jewellery from the 1860s to 1960s, Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart 2021, cat. no. 39
The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair, 2005, Handbook, Published in association with The National Magazine Company Limited, Silver, Jewellery & Objects de Vertu, Tadema Gallery, Stand 29, illustrated p. 234.
Heger de Loewenfeld, Metamorphoses de Braque, Raphael de Cuttoli Baron 1989, illustrated p.64
Vivienne Becker, "The Impossible Collection of Jewelry" 100 Most important Jewels of the 20th century, Illustrated fig 64, 2013, Assouline, ISBN:9781614280583

Ref No   453

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