'The Queen Maria-José ruby ring'. An exceptional ruby and diamond ring, late 19th century. Estimate 5,860,000 — 8,780,000 CHF. Photo Sotheby's

Set with an oval ruby stated to weigh 8.48 carats, framed with cushion-shaped diamonds, size 52. 

Accompanied by SSEF report no. 60894, dated 29 September 2011, Gübelin report no. 11090047, dated 8 September 2011, and GIA report no. 7196800988, dated 10 April 2015, each stating that the ruby is of Burmese origin, with no indications of heating, ‘pigeon blood’ colour according to the SSEF certificate; the SSEF and the Gübelin reports with appendix letters, the GIA report additionally accompanied by a separate monograph expressing the rarity and the characteristics of the stone, and also describing the colour as 'pigeon blood'. 

Provenance: Gift from Tammaro de Marinis (1878-1969), scholar and bibliophile, to Queen Maria-José of Italy.

Maria-José of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Princess of Belgium, born in Ostende (Belgium) on 4 August 1906, deceased in Geneva on 27 January 2001, daughter of Albert I, King of the Belgians, and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria.

On the 8th of January 1930, in Rome, Princess Maria-José married Umberto of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, son of Vittorio Emanuele III, King of Italy, Emperor of Ethiopia, King of Albania, and Princess Elena of Montenegro. Prince Umberto became King of Italy under the name of Umberto II on 9 May 1946. His short reign ended with the proclamation of the Italian Republic on 12 June 1946. Known as “The Queen of May” for her short reign throughout the month of May, Maria-José was the last Queen of Italy. 

This ring first appeared at auction on 22 February 1997 at Sotheby’s St Moritz.

FORMERLY IN THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF QUEEN MARIA-JOSÉ OF ITALY (1906-2001)

Exhibition: “Brilliant Europe. Jewels from European Courts”, ING Cultural Centre, Brussels, 24 October 2007 – 17 February 2008.

The Italian Royal Jewels: an outstanding collection

Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878), son of Charles Albert, Prince of Carignano, King of Sardinia-Piedmont, and Maria Theresa of Austria, married in 1842 the Archduchess Adelaide of Austria (1822-1855), daughter of the Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria and Elisabeth of Savoy. Victor Emmanuel II became King of Sardinia after his father’s death in 1849 until 17 March 1861 when he assumed the title of King of Italy and became the first King of a united Italy since the 6th century; he reigned until his death in 1878, and was succeeded by his son Umberto.

As his father had been a widower throughout his reign, King Umberto’s wife, Margherita became the first Queen of Italy. Margherita of Savoy was born on 20 November 1851 at Palazzo Chiablese in Turin, the daughter of Ferdinand of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, and of Elizabeth of Saxony. Margherita and Umberto were married on 21 April 1868 in the Renaissance Cathedral of San Giovanni in Turin. According to the tradition and the habit, she received a beautiful “corbeille de mariage” which included jewellery. Under her reign the Court enjoyed a period of splendour. She was admired not only for her style and bearing, but also for her patronage of the arts and her dedication to support of charities. 

Queen Margherita (1851-1926)

Intelligent, refined and well-read, Margherita’s winning personality made her instantly popular in Italy. Her elegance and grace had charmed Europe. She was affectionately called ‘The Queen of Pearls’, in recognition of her love of jewellery, particularly pearls which she wore on most occasions, often several rows together. Her husband was known to have given her a string of pearls every year and by 1900, the year of Umberto I’s death, Margherita had accumulated thirty-three pearl necklaces. 

Passionate about jewels, she was also determined to build and maintain a treasury of Italian royal jewels for posterity and to designate the special pieces that should comprise this collection and be bequeathed to successive generations of Italian royalty.

Portrait of Queen Margherita, circa 1890 (Guigoni & Bessi/Alinari/Getty images)

Her grandson, Umberto II was passionate about art and history and shared her great interest in jewellery. “He loved his own family collection of royal jewels not only for their historical importance but also for their beauty. In accordance with his artistic nature, however, he could not resist altering some of the pieces. They were unmounted and re-set many times, but always by the best jewellers in Italy. In 1968 he had a beautiful pearl and diamond tiara designed by the Roman jeweller Petochi on the basis of his own ideas, and set with stones removed from other royal jewels” (Stefano Papi and Alexandra Rhodes, Famous Jewelry Collectors). He also commissioned jewels from Petochi, using stones from pieces in his grandmother’s collection, a two-row diamond rivière, and a collection of diamonds and sapphires mounted into earrings, a necklace and a ring. From Chiappe, he ordered a chain composed of diamond knots, the symbol of the House of Savoy. 

Queen Elena of Italy (1873-1952) (Corbis)

Maria-José of Belgium married on 8 January 1930 Umberto of Italy (Corbis)

His wife, née Princess Marie-José of Belgium, was known and admired for her elegance and beauty. The daughter of Albert I, King of the Belgians, and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, she grew up in a royal environment and was accustomed to wearing beautiful jewels. On her coming of age, she was given a pearl and diamond bandeau and later acquired a magnificent Russian tiara with pear-shaped and briolette diamonds from the last Duke of Leuchtenberg, descendant of Empress Joséphine. On the eve of their marriage, Prince Umberto gave her the tall pearl and diamond tiara created by Musy on the orders of Queen Margherita in 1904. This tiara, designed to be worn in eight different ways, had become as inseparable from her image as her pearls. Maria-José wore this tiara like a crown over her lace veil at the wedding. Among her wedding gifts was a turquoise and diamond parure she worn at her pre-wedding reception, and a diamond bow. 

Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians (1876-1965), Queen Maria-José’s mother.

Princess Maria-José of Belgium, later Queen of Italy (1906-2001), circa 1925 (R Marchand/Alinari/Getty images)

A lover of the arts and passionate about jewellery like her husband, the beautiful, elegant and glamorous Maria-José wore jewels with great style as is substantiated by portraits and abundant photographic evidence. When the monarchy was abolished and the Italian Republic was proclaimed on 2 June 1946, King Umberto II and Queen Maria-José went into exile, taking with them only their personal jewels.

Princess Maria-José of Belgium  (Mondadori Portfolio/Getty images)

Princess Maria-José of Belgium (1906-2001)

The superb ruby and diamond ring offered here was part of the personal collection of the last Queen of Italy, Maria-José, a gift from Italian bibliophile Tammaro de Marinis (1878-1969) on the occasion of her wedding to Crown Prince Umberto in 1930. 

“There have only been three Queens of the united Italy and that this ring belonged to the last gives it historic interest, in addition to its intrinsic value. When the young, clever and attractive Belgian Princess Marie-José married the Prince of Piedmont, future Umberto II in 1930, she received jewellery inherited from the fabulous private collection of his grandmother, Queen Margherita (1851-1926). At the same time, as was customary, then and afterwards, her family, friends, and patriotic Italian supporters of the monarchy gave her more jewels, to ensure she would always stand out at her public appearances. The ruby ring, a gift from the scholar and bibliophile, Tammaro de Marinis (1878-1969) marks their long friendship, based on a shared passion for art and history. 

Acknowledged as the king of libraries, Tammaro lived in the sumptuous Villa Montalto near Florence. There, he entertained Marie-José, so she could meet the philosophers Benedetto Croce and Giovanni Gentile, along with the leading artists, poets, and politicians of the interwar period. A man of great taste, Tammaro chose the perfect ring for this brilliant Princess, married to the heir to the throne of Italy, for the royal character of the exquisite “pigeon blood” ruby within its diamond frame blended harmoniously with Queen Margherita’s bequests. Princess Marie Gabriella of Savoy has kindly confirmed that this ring was a gift from Tammaro de Marinis to her mother, Queen Marie-José, who was greatly attached to it” (Excerpts from the GIA monograph). 

Princess Maria-José of Piedmont in 1932 wearing the ring, with her mother, the Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians, in Brussels after a concert of the pianist Arthur Rubenstein and the violinist Désiré Defauw.

Queen Maria-José of Italy wearing the ruby and diamond ring. Image courtesy of the Gemological Institute of America.

This ring, set with an outstanding ruby, “the king of gemstones”, was the perfect jewel for a Queen. We are delighted to offer such a beautiful piece of jewellery with an amazing and historic provenance that links this ring to the history of Italy and European royalty.

Long honoured in history as a gemstone of sovereigns, warlords, and lovers, ruby was worn by noble rulers and formed an important part of their regalia. Ancient Indian texts refer to ruby as ratnaraj, meaning “king of gemstones”.

Ruby deposits are found across the globe, in places such Afghanistan, Cambodia, East Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam. All deposits have yielded fine-quality gem material, but certain locations have gained reputations as consistent producers of exceptional stones: Burmese rubies are considered preeminent. Rubies were likely first recovered in the Mogok area of Burma as far back as the Stone Age. However, local legends claim that Mogok was founded in 579 AD, and various records indicate that rubies were discovered at that time.

Criss-crossing rutile (milk) inclusions within the Maria-José Ruby are typical of rubies from Mogok in Burma. Images courtesy of the Gemological.

Criss-crossing rutile (milk) inclusions within the Maria-José Ruby are typical of rubies from Mogok in Burma. Images courtesy of the Gemological Institute of America.

The ruby contained in the Maria José di Savoia Ring hails from this magical and wondrous part of the world. The intensity of its colour and its strong natural red fluorescence, features common to rubies from Burma, allow this gem to offer an intense viewing sensation.

Various inclusions were noted in the Maria José di Savoia Ruby, however the most notable were iridescent rutile needles. All of the features observed were typical of ruby originating from Mogok in Burma. 

Any Burmese ruby in excess of 5 carats is considered very rare even today; thus, in the nineteenth century, one such as this – being over 8 ct and such a fine colour – would have been held as truly exceptional.

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Genève, 11 nov. 2015, 10:00 AM

Une reine sans couronne ? Affiche.

L’exposition Louise de Savoie, mère de François I er s’inscrit dans le cadre des festivités 1515, année qui reste un point d’ancrage de la mémoire collective de l’histoire de France. Cette année marquant l’avènement de François d’Angoulême au trône de France sous le nom de François I er et assurant la possession de Milan, fit entrer le royaume dans l’ère de la Renaissance. Le musée national de la Renaissance participe aux manifestations de l’année 2015 au même titre que la Bibliothèque nationale de France, le musée de l’Armée, le domaine de Chantilly, le château de Blois et bien d’autres institutions. 

Buste de Louise de Savoie, Val de Loire, Vers 1515, Terre cuite, 48 x 53 cm, Paris, musée du Louvre, département des Sculptures. © RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Martine Beck-Coppola

Mère du plus célèbre des rois de France, Louise de Savoie est pourtant la grande oubliée des manuels d’histoire. L’exposition qui ouvrira le 14 octobre 2015 est la première à lui être consacrée. Fille du duc Philippe de Savoie et de Marguerite de Bourbon, Louise de Savoie (1476-1531) épousa en 1490 le comte d’Angoulême Charles de Valois (1460-1496), petit-fils de Louis d’Orléans. La reine Anne de Bretagne n’ayant donné naissance qu’à un héritier mâle mort au bout de quelques jours en 1502, le fils de Louise, François d’Angoulême, devenait l’héritier du trône. François I er est proclamé roi de France en 1515 tandis que sa sœur Marguerite devient successivement duchesse d’Alençon puis reine de Navarre. Très fière de son fils, Louise de Savoie joua un rôle capital au début du règne de François I er , assurant deux fois la régence (en 1515-1516 et en 1525-1526). Elle tint fermement les rênes du royaume en 1515 puis pendant la captivité de François à Madrid et contribua avec Marguerite à la libération du roi. 

"Tapisserie aux armes et emblèmes de Savoie et d'Angoulême", France (vallée de la Loire ?), 1488-1515, tissage de laine et soie, 350 x 470 cm, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston / Charles Potter Kling Fund

En grande partie instigatrice de la coalition contre Charles Quint, elle négocia avec Marguerite d’Autriche, en 1529 le traité de Cambrai connu sous le nom de « paix des Dames ». Jusqu’à sa mort en 1531, Louise de Savoie continua de dominer la politique du royaume notamment en plaçant ses fidèles aux postes de conseillers du roi. Artus Gouffier, Florimond Robertet, l’amiral Chabot, Antoine Duprat, Guillaume puis Anne de Montomorency ont été nommés sous l’influence tutélaire indéniable de la mère du roi. 

Traité des Vertus, de leur excellence, et comment on les peut acquérir, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France. © BnF

L’exposition en évoquant ce rôle politique majeure de la mère de François I er , dévoilera aussi une facette méconnue de sa personnalité : elle domina largement et influença les arts, les lettres et la vie intellectuelle du royaume de France. Son goût pour les enluminures, la peinture, les tapisseries, l’orfèvrerie et son grand intérêt pour les livres ont sans aucun doute joué sur le penchant de François I er pour les arts. Sa part dans les choix artistiques de son fils est aussi perceptible dans le domaine de l’architecture, en particulier au château de Blois, au château de Fontainebleau et peut-être même au château de Chambord. À travers ses commandes artistiques et son mécénat architectural, transparaît un goût personnel pour l’art de l’Europe du Nord qui est perceptible jusqu’à Fontainebleau. 

Portrait de Louise de Savoie, François Clouet (attribuéà), XVIe siècle, lavis de sanguine et pierre noire, 36 x 24 cm, Rennes, musée des Beaux-Arts. © MBA, Rennes, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Jean- Manuel Salingue

L’exposition ambitionne de rendre toute sa place à ce personnage historique trop peu connu de l’histoire de France. Elle se déroulera au premier étage de l’aile Sud du château d’Écouen (appartements d’Anne de Montmorency et de Madeleine de Savoie, pavillon d'Abigaïl) dans un cadre permettant de se plonger au cœur du décor intérieur du XVI e siècle.

Retable de la chapelle de Cognac, Girolamo della Robbia, vers 1518, Terre cuite émaillée, 235 x 105 cm, Sèvres, Cité de la Céramique. © RMN-Grand Palais (Sèvres, Cité de la céramique) / Thierry Ollivier

Le Rondeau des Vertus : Charité contre Envie, André de La Vignej - Jean Pichore, Vers 1500, Miniature sur parchemin,18,3 x 12,3 cm, Écouen, musée national de la Renaissance.  © RMN-Grand Palais (musée de la Renaissance, château d'Ecouen) / Adrien Didierjean

An historic early 19th century Colombian emerald and diamond fringe necklace. Estimate CHF1,450,000 – CHF2,400,000 ($1,495,677 - $2,475,603). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

Designed as a series of nine graduated emerald and diamond square-shaped clusters, the central cluster with a large cushion-shaped emerald drop suspended from a diamond-set scroll mount and flanked by two smaller drops, the diamond collet intersections with smaller emerald and diamond square-shaped cluster drops, circa 1810, 42.5 cm, mounted in silver and gold, in pink leather case.

Accompanied by reports nos. 79796, 79801, 79804 and 79805 dated 2 April 2015 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the origin of the emeralds weighing 4.21, 2.84, 2.22 and 2.17 carats is Colombia, with no indications of clarity modification.

Reports nos. 79802, 79803 and 80244 dated 2 april and 27 May 2015 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the origin of the emeralds weighing 2.73, 2.32 and 1.79 carats is Colombia, with indications of minor amount of oil.

Reports nos. 79794, 79795, 79797, 79798, 79799 and 79800 dated 2 April 2015 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute statingt that the origin of the emeralds weighing 16.78, 8.14, 3.82, 3.78, 3.65 and 3.47 carats is Colombia, with indications of moderate amount of oil. 

Provenance: Christie's London, 20 June 1990, Lot 219
Sybil Sassoon, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (1894-1989)
Princess Hélène of France, duchess of Aosta (1871-1951)
Henri d'Orléans, duke of Aumale (1822-1897)

Literature: M.G. di Savoia and S. Papi, Gioelli di Casa Savoia, Electre, 2002, Milano, p.63 

Princess Elena of France, Duchess of Aosta.

ELENA'S EMERALD AND DIAMOND NECKLACE

There has long been a tradition in European royal families to offer the most beautiful jewels to one's spouse at the time of marriage. This is especially true when the wedding is a symbolic strengthening of the alliance between different countries. The present fabulous emerald and diamond necklace is one of those exceptional pieces of jewellery that can claim a prestigious list of owners from various parts of the world for almost 150 years.

Princess Hélène (1871-1951) was born into the Orléans family in 1871. Her father, Philippe d'Orléans (1838-1894), Count of Paris, was a direct descendant of Louis Philippe 1st, King of France (1773-1850), and himself pretender to the throne. Of great elegance, Princess Hélène is rumored to have been courted by some of the most important European heirs. After few disillusions, she finally married the Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Italy (1869-1931), Duke of Aosta, on 25 June 1895. The matrimony was a historic event in Europe, widely reported in the international press. Princess Helene officially became S.A.R. la Principessa Elena di Francia, duchessa d'Aosta.

The Illustrated London News, 29 June 1895

On her wedding day, Elena d'Aosta received both a stunning emerald and diamond necklace, and an emerald and diamond tiara from her godfather, Henri d'Orlans, Duke of Aumale. Given the nature and importance of such a European alliance, it is not surprising that the Duke of Aumale chose only the most spectacular gifts for his goddaughter. He was a renowned Art collector, with a particularly important antique book collection: The duke also was a passionate admirer and collector of many important jewels. This necklace most probably comes from his personal collection. The exceptional quality of the emeralds and the delicate craftsmanship, typical of the early 19th century, shows obvious resemblance with the jewellery made during the First Empire, by Nitot or Bapst, for Empress Josephine. The design of the main pendant, in particular, is of the same style as the one hanging on the emerald necklace from the Empress Josephine parure, now owned by Queen Sonja of Norway.

Princess Elena of France, Duchess of Aosta, wearing the Colombian emerald and diamond fringe necklace.

During World War I, Elena d'Aosta got involved with the Italian Red Cross as a nurse to help the victims. As time progressed she developed a passion for travels, and extensive accounts of her time in Africa are written in her published diaries. With Europe in political and social disarray, the fabulous emerald necklace was no longer worn in public and spent many years out of sight. 

Following the war and at some point during the 20th century, the necklace changed hands, and is next seen as part of the equally prestigious collection of Sybil Sassoon, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, the daughter of Sir Edward Sassoon and Baroness Aline de Rothschild. The beautiful Sybil Sassoon was depicted numerous times wearing fabulous jewels by her friend, painter John Singer Sargent, who was a great admirer of hers. Miss Sassoon's collection included, amongst others, a spectacular sapphire parure from the French Crown jewels.

The Countess of Rocksavage (Sybil Sassoon), 1913. By John Singer Sargent. Private collection.

The fabulous emerald necklace and tiara, offered by the Duke of Aumale to his goddaughter Elena d'Aosta, were both in the Marchioness' collection. Upon her death in 1989, part of her jewellery was sold at Christie's, and the emerald necklace consequently became part of a new private collection. Its reappearance today is an exceptional opportunity to admire a jewel of museum-quality. 

CHRISTIE'S. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 10 November 2015, Geneva

A large blue and white 'day lily' bowl, Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period. Estimate £8,000 – £12,000 ($12,312 - $18,468). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The bowl is boldly decorated to the exterior with a continuous scrolling leafy stem bearing large lily buds and flowers. The interior is decorated with a roundel enclosing a gnarled leafy tree with fruits and flowers. 16 ¼ in. (41.3 cm.) diam.

Notes: The auspicious meaning of a day lily, xuancao, comes from the first character, xuan, which is a traditional honorific way to refer to one's mother. This flower is also a symbol of longevity, and hence this flower could be used to signify honouring one's mother and to wish her longevity. Day lilies are also called wangyoucao (grief-dispelling plant) oryi'nancao (boy-favouring herb). It was believed that they could raise one's mood, while a pregnant woman who wore this flower could be expected to bear a male child.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART, 10 November 2015, London, King Street

A blue and white 'windswept' jar, Ming dynasty, 16th century. Estimate £6,000 – £8,000 ($9,234 - $12,312). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The jar is of globular form with a short waisted neck. The exterior is decorated with a central band depicting scholars and attendants in garden scenes beside rocks and willow trees, all between two wide bands of lappets. 8 ¾ in. (22.3 cm.) high

Provenance: From the Collection of Francis Golding (1944-2013).

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART, 10 November 2015, London, King Street

A blue and white garden stool, Jajing period (1522-1566). Estimate £8,000 – £12,000 ($12,312 - $18,468). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The stool is of drum form with two horned beast handles to the sides between bands of raised studs. The main body is decorated with peacocks and cranes amongst rocks and blossoming flowers, and the top has further cranes amongst clouds around a central floret. 14 ¼ in. (36 cm.) high

Provenance: Sotheby's Paris, 9 June 2010, lot 69.
From the Collection of Francis Golding (1944-2013).

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART, 10 November 2015, London, King Street

A rare large blue and white 'dragon' basin, Ming dynasty, 16th century. Estimate £20,000 – £30,000 ($30,780 - $46,170). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The basin is of a shallow compressed form with a lipped rim and supported by a short foot. It is decorated around the exterior with two large writhing dragons chasing a flaming pearl amongst clouds, all between cloud scrolls to the mouth rim and a classic scroll above the foot. 18 in. (45.8 cm.) diam.

Provenance: Christie's London, 15 June 1998, lot 96.
With Linart Ltd., London, 20 June 1998.
From the Collection of Francis Golding (1944-2013).

Notes: Large shallow basins of this type are very rare and it is possible that this vessel may have been intended as a jardinière or for penjing. The decoration on the exterior is boldly executed with a well-painted dragon band. The form of the dragon is similar to those seen on smaller vessels of the Jiajing reign, such as a lidded jar in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 34 – Blue and White Porcelain with underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 103, no. 96), and the dish in the same collection (illustratedibid., p. 130, no. 120). The scales of the dragon on the current vessel are particularly well defined as overlapping arcs, and using both dark outlines and pale reserved areas at the edge of each scale. Careful depiction of scales using the time-consuming technique of overlapping arcs is relatively rare on porcelains of the 16th and 17th centuries, when the faster, if less effective, technique of cross-hatching was often substituted.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART, 10 November 2015, London, King Street

LONDON.- One of Europe’s largest private collections of natural coloured gemstones will be offered to international market through a series of auctions showcased in London throughout November and December. 

Comprising 700 natural gemstones with an estimated retail value of £8m, The David Jerome Collection will be offered through online auctions by the Luxury Assets division of UK auction house, John Pye Auctions. 

Amassed over a period of 40 years by a discerning European collector of investment grade gemstones, the 688 lot collection of untreated stones has been ethically sourced directly from mines all over the world, including Burma, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Zambia. 

Each stone was purchased on merit for the finest natural purity and clarity and has its own independently-issued certificate, which guarantees both the authenticity and quality of each gemstone. 

Originally sourced as loose gems the collection contains Amethysts, Aquamarines, Chrysoberyl, Diamonds, Emeralds, Kunzite, Kyanite, Morganite, Opal, Sapphires, Spinal, Rubellites, Rubies, Spinel Tanzanites, Topaz and Zultanites. 

Originally purchased as asset investments the gems have, in recent years, been mounted in jewellery settings with diamonds to create a traditional auction offering for the international market. 

John Pye Auctions jewellery specialist, Ian Hall said: “This is quite simply a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy from an exquisite and extremely valuable collection of gemstones. We believe the collection to be certainly the largest in the UK, if not the whole of Europe. 

“The size and quality of a private collection such as The David Jerome Collection is available once-in-a-generation. 

“We are expecting particular interest in the highlights from the collection; in particular a pair of 35 carat oval cut Emerald earrings set in white gold. Sourced from Zambia, these earrings are estimated to sell for £400,000 – 600,000.” 

Sheldon Miller, John Pye Auctions Business Development Director said: “Global market availability of coloured gemstones of such natural purity and size is incredibly rare. 

“The rising values of coloured gemstones are now outstripping those of diamonds as royals and celebrities alike, including the Duchess of Cambridge, highlight their appeal and have raised their highly prized profile. Auction rooms across the globe are seeing record-breaking sales and we are expecting substantial interest from international buyers.” 

John Pye Auctions will be breaking from the norm for such a sale by offering the collection through online auctions - rather than physical traditional auctions - yet still accompanied by saleroom viewings across their UK network including the new John Pye Luxury Assets boutique saleroom at 5 Old Bond Street, Mayfair, London W1. 

The online only auction for the first part of the collection will commence on Friday 6 November, with bids being taken until the auction ends at 1pm on Friday 13th November. Prior to the auction, the collection will be on view at John Pyes Luxury Assets Bond Street showroom on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th November. 

It will include 345 of the stones, and will be highlighted by the sale of a certificated 16.75 carat natural pear cut deep blue/violet tanzanite, set in an 18 carat white gold ring. 

First discovered in the Mererani Hills of the Manyara Region in Northern Tanzania, tanzanite is the blue/violet variety of the mineral zoisite. This gemstone is only rarely found in its natural state and was given its tradename by the jewellery giant Tiffany & Co in the 1960s. Its rapid rise in popularity since then is mainly attributed to the promotion of this rare and beautiful gem by the company. The ring is surmounted by 1.42 carats of 'VVS' clarity diamonds and is estimated to sell for £38,000-42,000. [Lot 74]

16.75ct pear cut Tanzanite ring. Est.  £38000 - £42000. Photo courtesy John Pye Auctions. 

A 16.75 carat natural pear cut deep blue/violet Tanzanite, set in 18 carat white gold. The ring is surmounted by 1.42 carats of 'VVS' clarity diamonds. Gold weight: 12.27 grams. Ring size: N. The Tanzanite is independently certified by UGL and is accompanied by officially certified documentation detailing the retail price of the gemstone only as being $75.000 . 

Provenance: The David Jerome Collection.

Further highlights from the sale include a certificated 8.11 carat natural and untreated pear cut intense green emerald. Historically emeralds have been mined in Egypt since 1500 BCE, and India, and Austria since at least the 14th century CE. 

In the 21st century they are mined all over the world, with Columbia and Zambia being the largest producers. Like diamonds, emeralds are graded using four simple parameters–the four Cs: Colour, Cut, Clarity and Carat weight (meaning size). 

Unlike other coloured gemstones however, emeralds are graded primarily on both the colour and clarity due to the large number of inclusions they can commonly incur. This beautiful example is set in an 18 carat white gold pendant, surmounted by 0.75 carats of 'VVS' clarity diamonds. It carries a pre-sale estimate of £22,000-26,000. [Lot 19]

8.11ct pear cut Emerald pendant. Est.  £22000 - £26000. Photo courtesy John Pye Auctions. 

An 8.11 carat natural and untreated pear cut intense green Emerald, set in 18 carat white gold. The pendant is surmounted by 0.75 carats of 'VVS' clarity diamonds. Gold weight: 5.62 grams. The Emerald is independently certified by IGR and is accompanied by officially certified documentation.

Provenance: The David Jerome Collection.

An 18.29 carat certificated natural and untreated cushion cut deep pink/red rubellite, provides the final highlight from part one of the collection. From the Latin 'rubellus', meaning reddish, rubellites are one of the most popular gemstones on the market today. 

John Pye Auctions have signed up rising Bollywood starlet, Amy Jackson, as the cover face of The David Jerome Collection auctions. Ms Jackson has over half a million Twitter followers and over a million Facebook followers, attracting considerable potential interest from the Indian market. 

First introduced to Europe from India in 1703, this stunning gemstone derives from the colourful family of the tourmalines, and is the only tourmaline variety to have its own name within the gem trade. Tourmaline gems are believed to enhance understanding, relax the body and mind, increase self-confidence and aid in concentration and communication, as well as dispelling fear and grief. 

The Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi, the last Empress of China, is said to have loved pink tourmaline and to have been buried on a carved tourmaline pillow. Set in an 18 carat white gold ring, the rubellite is surmounted by 1.16 carats of 'VVS' clarity diamonds and is estimated to sell for £20,000-24,000. [Lot 66] 

18.29ct cushion cut Rubellite ring. Est.  £20000 - £24000. Photo courtesy John Pye Auctions. 

An 18.29 carat natural and untreated cushion cut deep pink/red Rubellite, set in 18 carat white gold. The ring is surmounted by 1.16 carats of 'VVS' clarity diamonds. Gold weight: 8.3 grams. Ring size: N. The Rubellite is independently certified by IGR and is accompanied by officially certified documentation.

Provenance: The David Jerome Collection.

Nother highlight:

13.21ct cushion cut Zultanite ring. Est.  £14000 - £17000. Photo courtesy John Pye Auctions. 

A 13.21 carat natural cushion cut champagne Zultanite, set in 18 carat white gold. The ring is surmounted by 0.92 carats of 'VVS' clarity diamonds. Gold weight: 6.39 grams. Ring size: M. The Zultanite is independently certified by IGR and is accompanied by officially certified documentation.

Provenance: The David Jerome Collection.

A sancai-glazed pottery tripod censer, Tang dynasty. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the compressed globular body rising from three short lion paw legs to a short waisted neck with rolled rim, brightly glazed on a straw-coloured ground with splashes of green, blue and ochre around the shoulder with the rim and top of the legs in ochre, the lower body unglazed revealing the pinkish-white body - 18cm., 7 1/8 in.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 5th December 1995, lot 210.

Note: The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of Oxford Authentication Ltd., Thermoluminescence Test no.666r8.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

A small sancai-glazed pottery figure of a duck, Tang dynasty. Estimate 2,500 — 3,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

standing with its head facing forward and its wings folded, covered in a blue and amber glaze - 6.5cm., 2 3/4 in

Provenance: Acquired from John Sparks Ltd., London in the 1930's (by repute).
George Harwood Snr, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Thence by descent.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

Gustav Klimt, Eugenia (Mäda) Primavesi, 1913-14 © Toyota Municipal Museum of Art

VIENNA.- The beginning of the twentieth century saw wide-reaching social and economic changes, not least of which was a rethinking of traditional gender roles. The incipient move toward gender parity provoked vehement counter-arguments on the part of popular theorists such as Otto Weininger. Yet the sexual liberation served men as well as women; both had reason to break out of nineteenth-century moral constraints. The more forthright acknowledgment of male and female sexual desire sent thrills and chills through early twentieth-century Austrian art, infusing the work of the nation’s leading artists with a mix of terror and exhilaration. Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka each approached what was then known as the Frauenfrage – the woman question – in different, yet overlapping, ways. The Women of Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka explores their differences and similarities and in the process offers new insights into early twentieth-century gender relations and the origins of modern sexual identity. Jane Kallir organized the exhibition along four main themes: portraiture, couples, mothers and children, and nudes. 

In the words of Agnes Husslein-Arco, the director of the Belvedere and the 21er Haus: “The Women of Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka sheds light on both sides of Vienna society, as well as those outside the salon culture of the upper classes. More and more middle-class women raised their voices in opposition, and, together with women workers, organized themselves into a movement. They not only wanted to rethink male dominated upbringing, the purely representative function of wives and society’s empty conventions; they demanded rights and insisted that gender roles be reconsidered and arranged anew.” 

It is easy to understand why Klimt’s portraits – sumptuous, elegant and brilliantly colored – were popular with the women of Vienna’s high society. But the artist’s richly ornamented surfaces almost completely obscure the sitters’ personalities. Schiele and Kokoschka turned this decorative formula inside out, thrusting their subjects into a pictorial void. In the process, they forced a confrontation with the existential anxiety that had been concealed by Klimt’s horror vacui. Defying the then-prevalent contention that women lack souls, Schiele and Kokoschka forged a new, modern form of psychological portraiture. 

“It was in this Zeitgeist,” notes the curator and vice director of the Belvedere, Alfred Weidinger, “that Klimt’s character as a person and artist was forged.” “Klimt,” explains Weidinger, “moved amid these spheres, and his art was chiefly in response to widely held discussions about the ‘riddle that is woman’, discussions that by 1900 or so had become the focal point of his artistic output. From then on, his art concentrated entirely on the female sex, approaching it from a variety of ways.”  

Uniting the work of Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka was a persistent belief in romantic love: a union of soul mates sealed by erotic passion. But whereas Klimt, in his paintings of couples, placed the subject on a lofty allegorical plane, Schiele and Kokoschka, both expressionists, allowed personal experiences to inflect their work. Indeed, Schiele’s and Kokoschka’s evocations of relationships gone sour are often more emotionally compelling than their portrayals of idealized, happy lovers. Because males and females were at the time deemed opposites, the two could not be comfortably joined.  

“Intellectuals in fin-de-siècle Vienna were downright obsessed with female sexuality,” writes the New York gallery owner and curator Jane Kallir in describing the era’s social and political framework. “This obsession,” she continues, “was reflected in the work of personalities as varied as Sigmund Freud and Gustav Klimt, Otto Weininger and Oskar Kokoschka, Arthur Schnitzler and Egon Schiele. But it was Schiele’s representations of women that were considered especially offensive.” 

The mother and child, one of the oldest subjects in Western religious art, was likewise transformed by the pressures of fin-de-siècle sexual politics. In the popular imagination, females were categorized either as “Madonnas” (chaste and maternal) or “whores” (sexually voracious predators). Klimt and Schiele subverted this dichotomy by depicting pregnant nudes and naked mothers, thereby explicitly linking motherhood to female sexuality. Kokoschka, on the other hand, seemed really to imagine that maternity “cured” a woman of sexual promiscuity. He obsessed about fathering a child with his lover, Alma Mahler, and in his art repeatedly allegorized her as the Virgin Mary. 

Traditionally, the goal of the female nude in Western art has been to control and subdue the subject’s innate eroticism through a process of ordering and idealization. At the beginning of the twentiest century, men’s fear of female sexuality was expressed in the concept of the femme fatale, one of Klimt’s recurring subjects. While these brazen, provocative women were controversial in their day, overall there is little in the artist’s work to upset the primacy of the male gaze. Klimt’s nudes are seductively beautiful, and in many of his most explicit erotic drawings they are passive almost to the point of unconsciousness. 

By comparison, Schiele’s and Kokoschka’s nudes are far more abrasive. Angular lines subvert their inviting curves, and erratic cropping creates an aura of unease. Unlike classical nudes, these women often seem aware that they are being watched, and at times they appear none too pleased. Schiele’s and Kokoschka’s nudes, like Klimt’s, convey an undercurrent of fear. It would not be accurate to call any of these artists feminists. Nevertheless, all three acknowledged female sexual autonomy to a degree that was unprecedented at the time. 

A Brief History of Masturbation 
In the long history of thinking about sexuality, the Greeks are well known for their indulgences, embracing all things related to physical love, up to and including masturbation. For the most part, Christianity restricted the sexual freedom endorsed by the Greeks. The monk St. John Cassian, born around 360 CE, was one of the first to write about masturbation. He regarded it as a vice, but one that could be overcome. Numerous Christian penitential books written during the Middle Ages echoed this view, speaking of masturbation – female masturbation expressly – as a lesser sin. Masturbation wasn’t considered a grave offense until Pope Alexander VII condemned sexual self-stimulation in the seventeenth century. But whereas theologians denounced masturbation as a sin, medical doctors treated it as a sickness. Sigmund Freud’s Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, published in 1905, put masturbation in a scientific light that was more in keeping with the times, paving the way for new understanding. But public views about self-pleasure were slow to evolve. 

In the work of turn-of-the-century artists and writers – Adolf Loos or Peter Altenberg, say – one finds a kind of elitist and sexist detachment, a permissiveness of deviance, up to and including paedophilia. Schiele was slapped with his first obscenity charge in 1910, after fourteen of his drawings had been removed from an exhibition in Prague. In 1912 he was arrested for crimes involving moral turpitude. Many painters drew on nude photography and literary precursors for inspiration. For his drawings of nude women masturbating, Klimt took an important cue from shunga, Japanese woodblock prints with explicitly sexual motifs that emerged around 1820 and whose contents were sometimes so graphic that their circulation was forbidden. What is striking about Klimt’s works is less their nudity than their enlarged and skillfully detailed representations of the vulva. 

The Women of Gustav Klimt 
Alongside Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, Gustav Klimt was among the most important erotic painters of his era. His decorative works hung in many houses on Vienna’s Ringstraße and in stately buildings throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire, making him the heir apparent to the eminent painter Hans Makart. But as he completed a commission for a series of ceiling paintings at the University of Vienna, he surpasses his earlier achievements. The female subjects in these works have an immense physical and psychological presence. From this commission onwards, women would be the main subject of Klimt’s art. 

In view of the public prejudices of his day, Klimt’s explicit and unvarnished drawings of women masturbating were tantamount to a quiet outcry. Like Pierre-Antoine Baudouin before him, Klimt liberated women from the necessity of seeking sexual gratification exclusively from men or female lovers. But none of his contemporary artists depicted the subject as clearly and unambiguously as he did. On account of his frankness, he faced sporadic accusations of pornography. But this didn’t stop him and he continued to exhibit his erotic works in public. Klimt was not the first artist to portray a woman masturbating, but he was the first to make female self-pleasure its own genre. 
The revolutionary aspect of his approach cannot be overestimated. Around 1900 society was still decidedly patriarchal. Klimt’s focus on women’s pleasure and his handling of female intimacy are more than just unusual. His art was the first to free them from fear and shame. 

In view of the subject, it is not surprising that Klimt spent most of his life among women. He never married and never shared a flat with a girlfriend, but he lived together with his sisters Klara and Hermine in the apartment of his mother, Anna. During the day, he spent time in his atelier, where he was constantly surrounded by women – sitters for his portraits and young women who posed for nude drawings. This experience helped Klimt understand and respond to intimate themes from the life of women. 

Gustav Klimt, Goldfish, 1901-02 © Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Dübi Müller Foundation, 1980

The Women of Egon Schiele 
Schiele was slapped with his first obscenity charge in 1910, after fourteen of his drawings had been removed from an exhibition in Prague. In 1912 he was arrested for crimes involving moral turpitude; in the years that followed Kokoschka repeatedly accused him of being a pornographer. When Schiele completed the painting that would secure his breakthrough, he was barely twenty, a youth whose artistic abilities far exceeded his emotional development. The hallmarks of his works – the preoccupation with metaphysical questions and with sex – are typical themes of late adolescence. Throughout his early twenties, these matters tormented him. As he grew older, however, he became more detached. Those who see Schiele’s interests as abnormal overlook how young and artistically precocious he was. This made it possible for him to express feelings that older artists usually repress. 

What distinguishes Schiele from Klimt, however, is that his representations are not mere projections of male desire. At the root of his work is an interaction between the artist and the model, an exploration and questioning of the mysteries of sexual attraction and aversion. One can hardly call Schiele a feminist, but very few artists before and after him have so openly bestowed sexual autonomy on their female subjects. With an intentional disregard for the aesthetic means traditionally used to reduce and objectify the force of female nudes, he unleashed the power of the female other and cast doubt on the effectiveness of rational male control. Still today, Schiele’s expressionist nudes contain something threatening for some heterosexual men. 

Unlike Klimt, who always kept his lovers at a distance, even when they were the mothers of his children, Schiele overstepped the tacitly acknowledged boundaries of his private sphere – his studio – by openly professing his love for his girlfriend, the model Wally Neuzil. Yet because of her low social station, Schiele never saw Wally as a potential wife and decided instead for Edith Harms – a daughter of a master locksmith for the railway – who demanded that Schiele break off contact with his lover. The works he completed around his break-up with Wally and the first months of his marriage suggest how difficult this phase was for him. The idea of an ecstatic union between body and mind that he expressed so clearly in some of his earlier works gave way to the sober realities of human relationships. His experience with marriage gave his portraits more depth and sensitivity. 

By contrast, his nudes from that time appear more detached. Although his representations of women sometime contain disturbing elements, they are more objective and less provocative than his earlier erotic works. 

The art historian Hans Tietze noted that Schiele, ”condensed all his vitality into a single, hastily travelled span of time.” In bridging the period between adolescence and adulthood Schiele’s work finds its completion. 

Egon Schiele, mother with two children III, 1917 © Belvedere, Vienna

Egon Schiele, Cardinal and Nun, 1912 © Leopold Museum, Vienna.

Egon Schiele, Gerti Schiele portrait, 1909 © 2015 Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York / Scala, Florence.

Egon Schiele, The Embrace (lovers II), 1917 © Belvedere, Vienna.

Egon Schiele, Seated Woman in violet stockings, 1917 © Private Collection, Courtesy Richard Nagy Ltd., London.

Egon Schiele, Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Edith Schiele, 1918 © Belvedere, Vienna

The Women of Oskar Kokoschka 
In early twentieth-century Vienna Oskar Kokoschka earned himself the flattering nickname of Oberwildling, the wild one. His work at the Vienna art exhibitions of 1908 and 1909 was hotly debated by the press. His portraits and his plays were controversial; his shaved head seemed radical. Kokoschka’s early artistic work occurred at a time in which alienation between the sexes, already augmented by the corset of bourgeois sexual morality, had reached a high point. It culminated in an atmosphere of uncertainty towards everything sexual. By around 1900, female figures in modern literature were portrayed as man-eating nymphomaniacs, corrupt seductresses and worshipped mistresses. Be it in the form of Judith or Salome, they expressed the male fear of castration. 

There is little doubt that Kokoschka’s negative view of woman increased considerably after he failed to win the affections of his classmate Lilith Lang in 1907. Comparison with the successful “activities” of his idol Gustav Klimt was certainly another source of frustration. Kokoschka’s envy of his artistic rival Egon Schiele was palpable in his disdain. Schiele was “constantly surrounded by girls”, which led to his immoral behaviour at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Karl Kraus and Adolf Loos, with whom Kokoschka became friends around 1908/09, were no slouches either when it came to sex. Loos had many affairs, married three times and in 1928 became entangled in a moral scandal. By contrast, the young Kokoschka usually took flight where love was concerned. It is likely that he saw women as dangerous seductresses and male sexual desire as a threat. 

The female nude certainly offered a way to approach the other sex from a passive position. Interestingly, Kokoschka’s nudes neither arouse desire nor idealize the women’s body according to the tenets of the academic tradition. Rather, Kokoschka alternatively displays his fascination with physical movement or seeks to uncover the inner psyche, even when it elicits revulsion. This puts his nudes in distinct opposition to the sensually erotic paintings of Gustav Klimt and to the explicitly erotic representations of Egon Schiele, who drew from his own sexual experiences. 

Though sexual questions made up only a part of Kokoschka’s multifaceted work and occupied him only temporarily, his idea of women underwent a remarkable transformation. After the failure of his relationship with Alma Mahler, he surmounted his inner conflicts and had a positive experience with Anna Kallin, leaving him more at east around women. Starting in the mid 1920s, other subjects entered his artistic purview – cities and landscape, in particular. In 1941, at the age of fifty-five, Kokoschka married the twenty-six-year-old law student Olda Palkovksá.

Oskar Kokoschka, Martha Hirsch, 1909. Private Collection, © Fondation Oskar Kokoschka / Image Rights, Vienna, 2015

Oskar Kokoschka, the slave, 1921, Saint Louis Art Museum© Fondation Oskar Kokoschka / Image Rights, Vienna, 2015 Photo: © Saint Louis Art Museum

Oskar Kokoschka, loving couple with Cat, 1917, Kunsthaus Zurich© Fondation Oskar Kokoschka / Image Rights, Vienna, 2015 Photo: © Kunsthaus Zurich

Oskar Kokoschka, Dancing girl in blue dress, 1908. Private Collection© Fondation Oskar Kokoschka / Image Rights, Vienna, 2015

A large 'Cizhou' carved black-glazed jar, Yuan-Ming dynasty. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the heavily-potted ovoid body rising from a recessed base to a short waisted neck with rolled rim, carved through the brown glaze to the body with a broad band of scrolling foliage at the shoulder, all above a ribbed and brown glazed lower body, the neck and shoulder set with a pair of simple lug handles - 50.8cm., 20in.

Provenance: Acquired from John Sparks Ltd., London in the 1930s (by repute).
George Harwood Snr, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Thence by descent.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

A rare 'Cizhou''lotus' jar, Northern Song dynasty. Estimate 30,000 — 40,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the rounded sides rising from a spreading foot to an incurving rim, the exterior covered with a white slip skilfully carved through with a wide band of a repeat design of a double lotus scroll, covered with a translucent beige glaze stopping at the base of the band, the unglazed foot revealing a greyish-white body - 12cm., 4 3/4 in.

Provenance: Acquired from John Sparks Ltd., London in the 1930s (by repute).
George Harwood Snr, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Thence by descent.

Note: This piece is unusual for its shape, which resembles the form of Jun waterpots, and its decoration that has been confidently incised in a carefree manner. Although no other closely related example appears to have been published, a Cizhou jar of similar shape and carved with a floral scroll through two layers of different coloured slips, in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, is illustrated in Cizhou Ware of China. Its Charm and Taste, Tokyo, 2005, pl. 42.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

A Cizhou-type black and russet-glazed bowl, Song-Jin dynasty. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to a slightly indented rim, the interior covered in a radiating black and russet-streaked design below the white-glazed rim, the exterior with a russet-streaked glaze running down to a black glaze, stopping well short of the foot to reveal the greyish-white buff body- 16.8cm., 6 5/8 in.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

A 'Jian''hare's fur' bowl, Northern Song dynasty. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the curved sides rising from a short straight foot to an indented rim, covered with a lustrous blackish-brown glaze finely streaked with 'hares fur' markings, falling short of the foot above the dark purple body, incised to the exterior base with the characters reading Gongyu (For imperial use) - 12.6cm., 5in.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

A 'Jizhou' phoenix bowl, Southern Song dynasty. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to an indented rim, the interior painted in white slip with a pair of long tailed phoenix interspersed with florets on a black ground, the exterior covered with a similar black glaze stopping short of the foot - 11.4cm., 4 1/2 in.

Provenance: Acquired from John Sparks Ltd., London in the 1930s (by repute).
George Harwood Snr, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Thence by descent.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

Fine natural pearl and diamond tiara, second half of the 19th century. Estimation 1,950,000 — 3,890,000 CHF. Photo Sotheby's.

Composed of a line of star motifs set with rose diamonds, surmounted with eleven slightly baroque drop shaped natural pearls measuring from approximately 10.30 x 12.50 x 13.75mm to 13.65 x 14.40 x 21.00mm, each natural pearl supported by a rose diamond mount and by a cushion-shaped diamond. 

Accompanied by SSEF report no. 80598, stating that the eleven pearls were found to be natural, saltwater, together with an appendix letter expressing the remarkable size and the quality of the pearls. 

Provenance: Mary Ray (1835-1901) married on 2 July 1856 Arthur Dubois, Viscount de Courval (1826-1873), thence by descent to the present owner. 

The Viscountess de Courval was a lady of exquisite taste. She was born into an important and wealthy family in New York. Brought up in France where her parents had settled, Mary Ray was a perfect match for a French aristocrat. In 1856, she married the Viscount de Courval in New York. A lover of the arts, the Viscountess looked for fine and delicate objects and works of art in Paris auctions to furnish and embellish her hôtel particulier at 6 rue Paul Baudry, near the Champs Elysées.

Notes: 'The described eleven pearls of remarkable size are set in this tiara together with a fine selection of diamonds in a beautiful historic design. The pearls have been carefully selected and show a matching slightly baroque drop to drop shape and a fine pearl lustre... Assembling a matching selection of natural pearls of this size and quality is very rare and exceptional'. 

Excerpt from the SSEF appendix letter

This exquisite, rare and impressive natural pearl and diamond tiara is a superb combination of the most flattering and imposing form of jewellery with the use of this exceptional, fascinating and mysterious material, natural pearl. In the  appendix letter accompanying the certificate for this lot, the SSEF states:  'The described eleven pearls of remarkable size are set in this tiara together with a fine selection of diamonds in a beautiful historic design. The pearls have been carefully selected and show a matching slightly baroque drop to drop shape and a fine pearl lustre'. 

The word 'pearl' has long been a metaphor for something rare, fine and valuable. For centuries, royalty throughout the world has coveted these precious gems as a symbol of power, purity and beauty, even endowing them with medical properties when consumed. Pliny, in his Natural History, recounts the tale of Cleopatra drinking one of the largest pearls in the world, dissolved in vinegar, after a bet with Marc Antony. Pearl was the most sought after gem for royalty and nobility, and this tiara is the perfect combination between this exquisite gem and the nobility of the tiara. 

The purpose of tiaras has constantly been threefold: to adorn, to convey status and to signify wealth. From the 19th century, tiaras were often given by a groom to the bride, marking not only the culmination of love, but a promise of high status and the comfort that would ensue. The Bonapartist era marked the beginning of the use of tiaras as they are worn today. Tiaras were worn at coronation, marriage and sometimes baptism. Just before the outbreak of World War I, they were worn to the new forms of entertaining of that time, particularly charity balls, private parties and, as always, to the opera. They were regarded as a glamorous accessory to evening dress. 

Because of their social significance, tiaras were often set with the most beautiful and precious family stones. In the tiara offered here, the design emphasises the quality and the importance of the drop shaped natural pearls and the function of the delicate diamond mount is merely that of enhancing their beauty.

The ongoing fascination with tiaras was confirmed by the Victoria & Albert Museum exhibition 'Tiara' which took place in 2002. Over two thousand tiaras were assembled for the show, with examples from British and European Royal families, as well as more contemporary creations. Over a hundred and eighty thousand people visited the exhibition to pay tribute to one of the most enduring and scintillating of jewellery forms. 

Besides the quality of the pearls and the delicate design of the jewel, the provenance adds interest to this fine and delicate piece. Indeed the tiara has been kept in the same family for well over a century. A painting by Gustave Jacquet (1846-1909) dated 1883, portrays Mary Ray, Viscountess de Courval, wearing the tiara together with a Worth dress inspired by the 18th century 'robe à crinoline' and by the high lace collar of the 16th century, worn by Marie de Médicis, Queen of France. This dress was created for a ball hosted by Madame de Courval on 24 May 1883. In the portrait, the Viscountess wears it together with several necklaces, a devant-de-corsage, hair ornaments, bracelets and rings. This painting is a true testimony of fin de siècle opulence when, after the fall of the Second Empire and under a still young Third Republic, France was divided between monarchists and republicans, but the elites met at a succession of sumptuous receptions.

Gustave Jacquet, Portrait of Mary Ray, Viscountess de Courval, 1883

The tiara passed on to the only child of the Viscount and Viscountess de Courval, Madeleine, who married François de Noailles, Prince de Poix, on 24 June 1889; thence by descent. 

Trois diadèmes chez le Comte Etienne de Beaumont, Paris, Robert Doisneau© Robert Doisneau

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Genève, 11 nov. 2015, 10:00 AM

Important 27.07 carats heart-shaped Type IIa diamond, D/VVS2 ring. Estimation 4,570,000 — 5,850,000 CHF. Photo Sotheby's.

Set with a heart-shaped diamond weighing 27.07 carats, size 52, illustrated unmounted.

Accompanied by GIA report no. 10528347, dated 6 March 2000, stating that the diamond is D Colour, Internally Flawless; and an updated report stating that the diamond is D Colour, Clarity, together with a working diagram stating that the diamond might be internally flawless after repolishing, and a Type IIa classification letter. 

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Genève, 11 nov. 2015, 10:00 AM

Head of Herakles, Italy, c. 1st century A.D., marble, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley in memory of Professor Alan R. Bromberg, via the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation, Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund, and Wendover Fund.

DALLAS, TX.- The Dallas Museum of Art acquired a marble head of Herakles, the Greek hero the Romans called Hercules, at a Sotheby’s, New York auction of Egyptian, Classical, and Western Asiatic Antiquities in June. The marble head is from the late 1st century A.D. and is set upon an unrelated bust from the mid-2nd century A.D. This ensemble was composed by the 18th-century French sculptor Lambert-Sigisbert Adam (1700–59), who created sculptures for King Louis XV of France and Frederick the Great of Prussia. 

The acquisition is a gift of David T. Owsley through the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation, and strengthens the Museum’s collection of ancient art of the Mediterranean, of which a selection is on view in the Museum’s Level 2 Classical galleries. The head and attached bust are now on view accompanied by a 2nd-century A.D. bust of Emperor Marcus Aurelius from a local private collection. Both serve as evocative examples of Roman imperial art and complement other Roman portraits currently on view from the DMA’s collection. 

The marble bust reveals the talents of three artistic hands. As a pastiche of two antiquities rendered by a master sculptor of the rococo period, Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, this work joins a small group of Roman sculptures at the DMA and offers lessons about Greek religion, Roman military commemoration, and the taste and flourishes of 18th-century artistry. 

“This powerful bust is as interesting for its later history in 18th-century France as it is for its Greco-Roman origins,” added Anne R. Bromberg, the DMA’s Cecil and Ida Green Curator of Ancient and Asian Art. “The head is a striking example of Roman realism in art: the mature, forceful face, the curly mustache, and the rich hair suggest an actual Roman man more than the epic hero Herakles, while the rich drapery of the shoulders might well be the dress of a Roman emperor or nobleman.” 

The head resembles two 1st-century A.D. Roman works that are now in the Vatican Museums and in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and is based on a Hellenistic Greek work of the mid-2nd century A.D. The head was excavated in Rome between 1723 and 1732 by Cardinal Melchior de Polignac, and was eventually used as a source of payment to Adam for his restoration work on pieces in the cardinal’s collection. The combination of fragments of Roman sculpture was a common practice in the 1700s, thus creating a new vision of Roman imperial art at that time.

Orazio Gentileschi, Danaë, oil on canvas, 1621. Est. $25/35 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

NEW YORK, NY.- After enthralling visitors at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the last two years, Orazio Gentileschi’s Danaë will grace Sotheby’s New York to lead the Master Paintings Evening Sale on 28 January 2016 (estimate $25/35 million). This undisputed masterpiece is one of the most important Italian Baroque paintings to come to market since World War II, and Sotheby’s is honored to have the privilege to handle a work of this magnitude. The painting will be exhibited in New York 30 October – 11 November, followed by exhibitions this fall in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and London. 

Commissioned in 1621 by the nobleman Giovanni Antonio Sauli for his palazzo in Genoa, this fantastic oil on canvas captures a scene from the myth of Danaë in which the daughter of King Acrisius of Argo is spirited away to a secret chamber to dissuade all male suitors from falling in love and impregnating the beauty. While mere mortals are deterred, Jupiter, God of the Sky and Thunder, is not — he catches a glimpse and promptly falls in love with the princess, materializing in her bedroom as a shower of gold coins. In Gentileschi’s rendering, Jupiter’s arrival is announced by Cupid who pulls back the curtains to reveal Danaë in all her exquisiteness. The Sauli series was amongst Gentileschi’s most important commissions and also includes a Penitent Magdalene, in a New York private collection, and a Lot and his Daughters, in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu. 

A figurehead of the Italian Baroque period, Orazio Gentileschi began his career in Rome where he, like many others of his time, worked in close proximity with Roman and visiting artists. By 1600, a young artist by the name of Caravaggio was a constant companion, whose friendship translated to great artistic influence. In his later years, Gentileschi became known as one of the most talented and distinct Caravaggesque painters, a trait that he passed along to his daughter, the most celebrated female artist of the 17th century, Artemesia Gentileschi. The use of color, sensuality and splendor portrayed in Danaë draws together the Caravaggesque naturalism and Gentileschi’s masterful skill as a Baroque painter. 

While the subject matter is not one unique to Gentileschi, the variance in textures showcases the artist’s extraordinary ability to depict beauty and light. The nuanced treatment of the satin, linen and metals, combined with the refined composition of the overall setting, results in a sumptuous work of art and a dynamic representation of one of the defining moments of early seventeenth-century painting. A true highlight of Gentileschi’s oeuvre, Danaë is one of — if not the most — important Baroque paintings to come to public auction in decades.