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MiriamHaskell WWII Era GoldGilt Filigree Cast Butterfly FrankHess Pre1945 Brooch

About the Item

A child of the Art-Nouveau period, Miriam Haskell loved its butterfly design-motifs, which are found in many pieces of costume jewelry by her first designer Frank Hess. His butterfly designs always have their wings outstretched and often included layered filigree like his typical flora. Without glass or beads, this brooch is a rare fully cast piece by Hess in a gold-gilt metal that appears from the front to be layered. It closes with a pin and safety clasp, which is a Haskell finding beginning in the late 1930s. Notably the only part of the design without filigree are the antennae. According to Sheila Pamfiloff, co-author of Miriam Haskell Jewelry: "Her company did not do a lot of cast pieces and it didn't stray from the main idea of what the jewelry was supposed to be about--beautiful beads and execution for a sophisticated audience." But Haskell's essential European handcrafted-glass-bead supply since her founding in 1926 was cut off due to WWII from at least Summer 1939-Spring 1945 as they had been made in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy and France. Lack of these foreign materials would have necessitated a greater reliance on the Providence, Rhode Island, producer of many of her metal findings. So most of the atypical fully cast Haskell jewelry seems to have been made between 1939-1941 before America entered the war and rationed metals, and for at least a year after the war ended before the finest glass beads could be reliably obtained again. For a look at a similarly cast, but flat, gold-gilt filigree frame with like circle-textured edges and faux-cannetille curls, view our other listing for the 1945-dated white-enameled climber earrings by Hess. No Haskell jewelry before 1947 had a metal brand signature because prior she used temporary tags that the buyer removed before wearing.
  • Creator:
  • Metal:
    Yellow Gold,Gilt Metal,Base Metal
  • Weight:
    21 g
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 2 in (50.8 mm)Width: 2 in (50.8 mm)
  • Style:
    Art Nouveau
  • Place of Origin:
    United States
  • Period:
    1940-1949
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1939-1946
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Chicago, IL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3244220715442

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