Art Deco Gem-set Devant de Corsage, Boucheron, Paris, designed by Lucien Hirtz

Description:

Art Deco Gem-set Devant de Corsage, Boucheron, Paris, designed by Lucien Hirtz, mounted by Bisson, lapidary work by Brethiot, centering diamond-set scrolls among cabochon coral, lapis, and jadeite leaves, diamond wt. 11.05 cts., platinum, palladium, and 18kt gold mount.

Exhibitions: Exposition Universelle des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, 1925.

Note: Maison Boucheron (est. 1853) grew in a relatively short period from a small workshop in the Rue Royale to a prestigious firm enjoying royal patronage and occupying a mansion on the Place Vendome. Henri Vever said that from early on, Frederic Boucheron was daring, and, with the finest materials, created jewels which "very few of his colleagues would have dared to make at the time ... Yet despite their high cost, these pieces easily found buyers." The firm was often in the vanguard of design and materials innovation, mastering plique a jour enameling in advance of many other houses, and reviving the armorer's technique of marrying blued steel and gold net. In the 1920s, Louis Boucheron was still in the avant garde, drawing design ideas from Cubism, African Art, and the Ballets Russes, while taking full advantage of the technological progress in the lapidary arts. Maison Boucheron was a major contributor in the success of the 1925 Exposition Universelle, considered the defining event of the Art Deco period. This devant de corsage, designed by Lucien Hirtz especially for the Exposition, represents many of period's best innovations.

Lucien Hirtz (1864-1928),a sculptor and enamelist who received his early training from Falize, was employed by Boucheron from 1893 in a variety of roles, turning his gifted hand to all aspects of the jeweler's art. It was Hirtz who was called upon to design many of the firm's most important commissions, including the Louis XVI style solid gold tea service for the influential Sir Basil Zaharoff, an individual of untold wealth who was known as the "Mystery Man of Europe."

Boucheron has had the courtesy to inform us that its archives contain photographs, materials records, and the sale date of this item.
Estimate $50,000-75,000

Boucheron
3 1/2 x 2 1/4 in. approx.
Big diamonds in the HIJ range, vary in clarity, 2 larger ones are VS, smaller one SI3, I1, most smaller stones in this range, VS with a few Sis
No additional marks other than guarantee stamps and signature
Jadeite varies slightly in color
See images

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