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Henry Schreiner 1930s ProngSetCrystal FloraSpray TeardropFrame GiltBrass Brooch

Name: Henry Schreiner 1930s ProngSetCrystal FloraSpray TeardropFrame GiltBrass Brooch
Brand: Henry Schreiner
Price: 3590 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Henry Schreiner, the Austrian-born blacksmith founder of Schreiner New York in 1932, handcrafted this multi-color prong-set Bavarian crystal stylized-flora spray gold-gilt brass brooch before he began designing more extravagant silver-soldered settings in the early 1940s (see our other listing for the colorless crystal demi-parure). Like the more linear and asymmetrical early pieces that can be distinguished as those clearly made by the founder, this elegant large brooch features sprawling overlapping wire arrangements with widely spaced soldered pre-cast settings that appear scattered and delicate like thin branches. The hand-arranged twisted wires are imperceptibly soldered on at least one end to his characteristic teardrop leaf-like frame without the need for rivet construction. He often assembled the metal strips of a frame sideways on an edge for added depth and shadows. More so, the hinge for the long pin and its safety clasp are neatly soldered to the edge of the central strip without an extra support bar. Further identifying the brooch, Schreiner's granddaughter published some family secrets about real Schreiners: "many of our flower pins, always have the end of the stem/wire hammered to flatten it." Comparatively, similarly styled handcrafted European brooches, such as some produced later by Countess Cis Zoltowska, have stems that are not hammered. For some of the leading fashion designers since the mid-1930s such as American Norman Norell and French Christian Dior, Schreiner, who died in 1954, finished such custom-order pieces unsigned to accompany seasonal clothing ensembles in the tradition of European couture sets by Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli. Most of the signed brooches produced after Schreiner's death under the direction of his late daughter Terry and her designer husband Ambros Albert included a versatile pendant hook for specially-made chains, layered hook-and-eye construction, unfoiled inverted stones, and were often mixed with uniquely elongated plastic or painted aurora-borealis glass jewels in a chunkier tighter arrangement, such as the popular ruffle design first produced in 1957. In typical Schreiner style, the custom-made Czech rhinestones in six faceted shapes and colors--foiled cranberry, pink, green, lime and grey, plus unfoiled aqua--are positioned at different angles in three dimensions for maximum sparkle. Given its over 80-year-old age, the palest foiled crystals are likely darker than when new, while the brass has minute gilt loss at edges and stem ends seen with a loupe. Signed and unsigned Schreiner brooches with similar structure can be seen among the photos found in the co-authored book by Carole Tanenbaum and Eve Townsend, titled Schreiner: Masters of Twentieth-Century Costume Jewelry.

Creator:

Henry Schreiner

Metal:

Brass,Yellow Gold,Gilt Metal

Stone:

Crystal

Stone Cut:

Mixed Cut

Weight:

1.3 ounces (lb)

Dimensions:

Width: 3 in (76.2 mm)Depth: 1 in (25.4 mm)Length: 5 in (127 mm)