Jean Després Hammered Silver Bracelet

This opulent five-coil gold, Ceylon ruby and diamond "Serpenti" bracelet dates from the Dolce Vita period of 1950s Rome, when Bulgari jewels reached new creative and technical heights. Drawing on beloved ancient models from art and archaeology, the bracelet is designed as a coiled snake whose rounded body is composed of hand-formed curved tubogas links surmounted by beaded mesh, its engraved head with flickering tongue set with a fine oval-cut Ceylon ruby, diamond accents, and diamond eyes, while a concealed compartment beneath the ruby opens to reveal a watch with circular dial. With its astonishing flexibility, and soft, sinuous feel, the bracelet winds beautifully up the arm, an emblem of Bulgari’s modern style and unequaled craftsmanship bringing to life a classic jewel worn by the empresses and goddesses of the Minoan, Egyptian and Roman worlds. Artist: Bulgari, Rome Country: Italy Circa: 1955 Size: 29’’ length, 0.625’’ width Materials: Oval-cut Ceylon ruby (total approximate weight 2.50 carats); 4 Old European-cut diamonds (total approximate weight 1.20 carats); 18K Gold (total approximate weight 178 grams) Signed: "Bulgari Italy" Documentation: Together with American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) certificate #1113269 from March 30th, 2021, stating the ruby’s origin is Ceylon (Sri Lanka) with no gemological evidence of heat Literature/Exhibition History: A diamond and emerald serpent bracelet of this complex beaded model, belonging to the Bulgari Heritage Collection...

Composed of silver, lacquer and reverse painted and engraved crystal, this exceptional ring was a collaboration of two French modernist artists, Després and Cornault. The ring centers a glass crystal prism above a polychrome abstract-design painting in miniature by Cornault, mounted by Després within a silver and black lacquer surround, flanked by stepped and incised chevron form shoulders with subtle dark patination. Uniting an intriguing abstract painting with the geometry of interlocking planes and layered strata, this rare ring is powerful work of painterly and sculptural modernism. Product Details: Item #: R-21132 Artist: J Després and E Cornault Country: France Circa: 1930 Size: 6.75 (this ring can be sized; please contact the gallery for further information) Materials: Glace peinte/Reverse-painted crystal; Black lacquer; Silver Signed: "J. Desprès", "JD" maker's mark, French guarantee stamp for silver. Provenance: Given by the artist to his niece, and by descent in her family. Exhibition History: "Étienne Cournault (1891-1948)" at Musées de la Cour d’Or à Metz, 25 June to 24 October 1994. This ring was presented as number 94 in the exhibition catalogue. Literature: This ring appears in "Jean Després; Jeweller, Maker and Designer of the Machine Age", Thames & Hudson, 2009, by Melissa Gabardi, on p. 197. Macklowe Gallery Curator's Notes: This important ring is one of a small group of “Bijoux-Glaces” or “Mirror Jewels”. These jewels represent the collaboration between two French Modernist artists, Étienne Cournault (1891-1948) and Jean Després (1889-1980). Cournault was from Lorraine, and had been educated at L’Ecole de Nancy in graphic and applied arts. He was active in Paris as a painter, draughtsman, and print maker in the 1920s. Moreover, he was the premier practitioner of the rarified technique of reverse painting on crystal, which he elevated from a traditional decorative art by creating intriguing miniature paintings of Surrealist and Cubist inspiration. Cournault met Després, an accomplished silversmith who moved in the circle of Modligiani, de Chirico, Braque and Signac, when Jacques Doucet commissioned the artists to complete an ornate metal table...

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