Gold, silver, opal, diamond

H  4.20cm (1.65 in)  |  W  10.60cm (4.17 in)

The diadem is French without the maker's mark. Possibly by Georges Fouquet or Maison Vever. The design of the female head is reminiscent of drawings and posters by the Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, who worked closely with Georges Fouquet designing jewellery whilst he was living in Paris. Mucha was much influenced by Byzantine culture and made a series titled 'Byzantine heads' (1896-1898) in which he depicted female heads with fantastical headgear, as seen here, with the two roundels covering the ear and long gold dangling pendants,
The diadem can also be worn as a pendant by unscrewing the reverse.

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. 231
cf. In Commemoration of the 150th Memorial Birth Alphonse Mucha, exhibition in Japan 2010/11.

Ref No   7204