The Home Beautiful: A Magnificent Enameled Presentation Box and Champagne Flute 17th-20th C.

Champagne Glass and Presentation Case
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click on image for larger size.

From the Royal Collection, we have this silver and blue enamel Art Deco pentagonal presentation box.  The two hinged front doors open to reveal a magnificent champagne glass on a silver stand.  Across the bottom of both doors and the silver stand, gilt metal plaques boast a continuous inscription which reads:

THIS ANCIENT ENGLISH CHAMPAGNE GLASS, MADE IN THE REIGN OF

KING CHARLES II,

SHORTLY AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF THE SPARKLING WINE OF CHAMPAGNE BY DOM PIERRE PERRIGNON, AND BELIEVED TO BE

THE OLDEST DRINKING VESSEL OF ITS KIND IN EXISTANCE, WAS PRESENTED WIH HOMAGE AND RESPECT TO THEIR MAJESTIES KING

GEORGE V AND QUEEN MARY TO MARK THE MEMORABLE AND HAPPY OCCASION OF THE SILVER JUBILEE OF THEIR ACCESION TO THE THRONE 16TH MAY, 1935 BY THE WINE PRODUCERS AND PEOPLE OF CHAMPAGNE.

The entire box fits into a red leather carry case designed and made by Hermès.

This late seventeenth-century lobed drinking glass with splayed rim sits upon a baluster stem and a circular and spirally-molded foot.

As impressive as this important glass is, the Art Deco presentation case is equally important.

Enameler Jean Goulden (1878-1946) was commissioned to create the case by the large Champagne houses (Reims and Épernay), grape growers, cork makers and glass makers, after the ;eague had collectively purchased the champagne glass in London on November 6, 1934 from the collection of Grant R. Francis, who was known as one of the most important glass collectors of the twentieth century. 

Goulden's original designs for the casket exist in the collection of his son.  The artist had originally studied medecine and art in Paris before becoming a major-doctor during the first world war,  being stationed in Macedonia where he remained for some time as the guest of the monks' communities of the Mont of Athos.  There, he studied Byzantine enamels in the company of Paul Jouve (1880-1973). 

When Goulden returned to France, he joined Jean Dunard (1877-1942) who introduced him to the champlevé enameling technique.  Known for their fineness and rarity, Goulden's works are considered the best of the era and he is considered important in the development of the Art Deco style in the decorative arts.  His work is characterized by stong black lines and bright colors, and the use of a geometric or cubist style.

The Home Beautiful: Pochoir Furnishing Fabric, 1925

Click on image to see a pink spaniel.
Furnishing Fabric, c. 1925
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Manchester, England, around 1925 by Tootal, Broadhurst, Lee & Co, this furnishing fabric was designed by George Sheringham. The repeat of the material depicts a couple attired in Eighteenth Century court costume. Their companion is a pink spaniel. 

Such fairytale-inspired scenes were popular in the 1920s. This one borrows its theme from a series of Italian fashion plates which were made by with pochoir stencils.

Mastery of Design: The Liberty Blood Red Fire Opal Ring and Necklace, 1926-1927

Fire Opal Ring and Pendant in Platinum and Diamond Settings
The British Museum

Click Images to Enlarge.

Liberty & Co. of London and Paris produced this platinum-set finger ring and pendant for Christmas of 1926-1927.  The set glitters with the pristine sparkle of diamonds and the unusual glow of blood red fire opals.  

This extraordinary pair of rare fire opals is part of an impressive collection of jewels from the 1920s-1950s which was donated to the British Museum in 1978 by Professor John and Anne Hull Grundy.  

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Set of Five Platinum Eternity Bands or Guard Rings, 1920-40

Guard Rings
1920-1940
England
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see a set of five platinum guard rings set with diamonds, emeralds and rubies. Today, we’d refer to these rings as Eternity Bands and, they’re quite in fashion again. This set was made between 1920 and 1940.


These narrow rings are set with a continuous line of matching, single-color stones. Such rings initially became very fashionable during the 1930s. They were worn either next to or instead of a plain, gold or platinum wedding band. Of course, diamonds were the most popular choice, others were often set with emeralds, rubies or sapphires. One famous lover of such rings was Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent. On her marriage in 1934 to Prince George, the Duke of Kent (son of George V and Mary of Teck), she selected three - one of rubies, one of diamonds and one of sapphires, the colors of the Union Jack.

Mastery of Design: A Cartier Diamond and Coral Jabot Scarf Pin, 1920

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This long scarf pin by Cartier features three overlapping jeweled semicircles at its head. This pattern is echoed in miniature on the clip at its base. Made between 1920 and 1930, this style of brooch was very fashionable at the time. It is made up of two separate decorative ends which are joined by a pin.

When made, Cartier referred to these pins as “cliquet pins” because of the snap fastening which held the lower element in place over the sharp point of the pin. However, overall such pins are referred to as jabot pins (after a cravat or jabot) or sûreté pins.

A pin like this—in the 1920s would have been worn to secure a scarf or worn on the lapel. Sometimes, they were even worn at the front of a cloche hat. In all instances, only the two jeweled ends of the piece would be seen, with the pin concealed. This example of platinum set with fans of coral, onyx and brilliant-cut diamonds typifies both the look of the Art Deco and Cartier’s preferred style for these pins. 

History's Runway: The Schiaparelli Circus Jacket, 1938

Jacket
Elsa Schiaparelli, 1938
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Four acrobats leap across the front of this jacket.  Well, okay, they’re buttons, but they’re shaped like acrobats.   This bright pink fitted jacket  is the work of the renowned Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973). The silk twill comes alive with a repeating pattern of rearing horses in two shades of blue--their saddles, manes and plumes are picked out in brilliant metallic thread.

The jacket was originally designed to be worn over a dark purple crêpe evening dress with a draped hem as part of Schiaparelli's Circus collection of 1938. The runway show for the collection was described as “the most riotous and swaggering fashion show that Paris had ever seen. It had a million novelty effects, including prancing dogs and horses, grey elephants, spot-lit acrobats, tents and clowns.”

The jacket was one of the collections’ centerpieces and was featured prominently in Schiaparelli’s Nineteenth Album of her work—1938.  

Saturday Sparkle: The New York Flower Basket Brooch, 1930

Brooch
Cartier, New York
1930
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By 1930, traditional themes in art had become stylized into geometric patterns of cool-tones and shine. The floral jewels of the Nineteenth Century gave way to icy sprays and baskets of diamonds, rock crystal and platinum. 

Take, for example, this floral basket brooch made by Cartier New York in 1930. With its Eastern and geometric influence, the blooms are stylized, and the base of the basket is emphasized by baguette-cut diamonds. Cartier has combined rock crystal with diamonds and platinum to create a study in shades of white which is brought to life from icy splendor by brilliant-cut diamonds.

The Home Beautiful: Pochoir Furnishing Fabric, 1925

Click on image to see a pink spaniel.
Furnishing Fabric, c. 1925
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Manchester, England, around 1925 by Tootal, Broadhurst, Lee & Co, this furnishing fabric was designed by George Sheringham. The repeat of the material depicts a couple attired in Eighteenth Century court costume. Their companion is a pink spaniel. 

Such fairytale-inspired scenes were popular in the 1920s. This one borrows its theme from a series of Italian fashion plates which were made by with pochoir stencils.

Drawing of the Day: Design of Three Waiters Serving in a Cafe, 1928

Three Waiters Serving
Geoffrey Houghton Brown, 1928
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Geoffrey Houghton Brown is best remembered as a mural painter who thrived in the 1920s and 1930s. We see here one of thirteen designs that Brown created in 1928 for mural decoration in the Blue Train Restaurant on Stratton Street, London.

The Blue Train was a fashionable restaurant which was owned by an Italian gentleman called Savrani who commissioned noted contemporary decorator Marchese Malacreda to appoint his dining rooms in the epitome of modern design. Malacreda, in turn, hired Geoffrey Houghton Brown to create murals on the theme of travel.

Brown employed a team of three Chinese assistants, who also doubled as theatrical scene painters to paint the murals in oil and turpentine directly onto the white-painted walls of the restaurant.

The murals’ theme was the “Blue Train” which ran to the South of France. The drawing we see here was intended for the large murals over the bar area—a section of the restaurant which was referred to as the Merry-go-round.

Later, the site of the restaurant became Langan's Brasserie. Sadly, all traces of Malacreda’s interiors and Brown’s murals have disappeared.

Unusual Artifacts: A Pair of Red Oxford Shoes, 1925

Oxford Shoes
Coxton Shoe Co., Ltd., 1925
Shown at the London International Shoe Fair
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the 1920’s, the footwear fashion for men was to wear “Oxford” lace-up shoes—essentially a “closed tab shoe.” They were so-called because the eyelet tabs (these are the sections of leather with holes for the laces) were stitched under the front section of the shoe (known as the vamp) as opposed to be stitched on top.

Oxfords, typically, were black or brown leather, intended for everyday wear. At the time, especially in Britain, men of taste followed strict rules of “appropriate” dress. Brown shoes worn with a dinner suit were considered inappropriate. And, any display of vivid color footwear was thought to be vulgar.

And, then, there are these shoes of bright red leather adorned with gold swirls. Clearly, these were not made for actual wear. No, these shoes were made to be displayed in order to showcase the maker’s skills. They were displayed at the London International Shoe Fair in 1925. Joining them were a black and gold pair and a thoroughly blinding, marbled blue leather creation.

Made by the Coxton Shoe Co., Ltd. of Rushden (Northamptonshire), England, the shoes were made specifically to catch the eye of American buyers. While a British man would never have dared to wear bright red shoes, American men had more freedom. Though this particular pair would have seemed vulgar, even my American standards, the workmanship demonstrated that the Coxton concern was able to produce more exciting designs than other makers. and may have been aimed at the American market which was open to more exotic designs.

The shoes feature gold leather decoration, a rounded-pointed toe, six eyelets, and gold laces. Red stitching on gold decorative strips gives interest to the backstrap, toe-cap, facing, vamp and quarters. They boast a stacked heel and a brown leather sole with a scrolling pattern along the edges and a green stripe between two red wheeled stripes. 

History's Runway: The Lady Glendoven Gown, 1938

Gown of Silk Tulle, 1938
Mainbocher
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The American couturier Mainbocher created this gown of a fine silk tulle of pale green, pink and emerald green stripes.  The dress is decorated with circled and scattered sequins in coordinating colors. The metal zipper at the side of the dress has been colored green and pink to match the stripes.

As was the style of the late 1930s, the bodice is close fitting with cap sleeves and broad shoulders. The shoulders, however are not padded.  The designer was unable to use shoulder padding, as this would be visible through the tulle, so instead three pieces of boning have been employed, arranged in a fan shape to support each of the shoulders. The dress falls from a fitted waist into a very full, floor length skirt which was to be worn over an emerald green satin petticoat because of the transparent nature of the tulle.

Mainbocher established his couture house in Paris in 1929. He was Born Main Rousseau Bocher, running his two names into one to create his label.

The designer is, perhaps, best known for his 1937 design for the wedding dress of the Duchess of Windsor on her marriage to the former King Edward VIII, the Great Kerfuffler ™.  He was a favorite of Wallis Simpson and I could see her wearing this gown as she mercilessly teased anyone who crossed her and drank away the reality that she would never be Queen.

Speaking of Edward VIII/The Duke of Windsor and his wacky abdication, we’ve commemorated the scandal with our exclusive line of Abdication Kerfuffle ™ designs.  Check them out in our online store.  

Mastery of Design: A Double Clip Diamond Brooch, 1930-1940

Lady Abingdon's Double Dress Clip Brooch
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

 

I thought that this double-clip diamond brooch would be the perfect jewel to conclude today’s posts. 

I don’t need to tell you that this was made between 1930 and 1940 during that luscious period when dense concentrations of diamonds and other gemstones were en vogue. The fashion started in the 1920s and is also known for the use of platinum settings which did not intrude on the look of the piece. 

Brooches like this one were quite popular during this period. Not only were they attractive, but they were versatile. And, in a way economical since a lady could get several looks from one piece of jewelry. The brooch can be worn as a whole or it can be divided into two identical halves which were worn as clips. Diamond clips were placed on lapels or opposing one another on the neckline of a gown. 

This example gleams with brilliant-cut, baguette and square-cut diamonds. It was made in England by a now unknown jeweler. It’s part of the beautiful collection of The Bettine, Lady Abingdon in the V&A. 

Other brooches (with a necklace and earrings) from the collection.  We've studied most of these.

Print of the Day: An Advertisement for Je Reviens by Worth, 1940

Advertisement
Addey, 1940
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Famed commercial artist Wilfrid R. Addey (1912-1999) worked for sixty years for a variety of top  London advertising firms, drawing ads for everything from beer to pin-up girl calendars.

This gouache drawing is one of four designs that Addey  created in 1940 for an advertisement for the perfume Je Reviens from Worth.  Addey played up the easily recognizable design of the perfume’s bottle.  He has placed the blue, round bottle in at the bottom center of the page with "Je Reviens by Worth" at the top centre of the composition.

Addey makes the bottle seem almost planetary as light radiates from the bottle in brilliant shades of light to dark blue which blend with merging the dark background.  This composition combines the ethereal quality of beauty as well as implies the gentle scent of the perfume as it radiates from the bottle.

Gifts of Grandeur: A Platinum and Diamond Bow Brooch, 1930-1940

Brooch
Platinum and Diamonds
1930-1940
The Victoria and Albert Museum

If Jack Ketch used this knot as his noose, more people would rush to be hanged. In another superb example of antique jewelry from the V&A, we see this diamond and platinum bow brooch made between 1930 and 1940. 

The brooch features pavé-set brilliant-cut which create the ribbon-y loops of the bow. The knot itself is crafted from baguette-cut stones which are repeated in the tails of the bow. Black onyx—a frequent medium in Art Deco jewelry—outlines the piece and gives it added weight and depth.

Mastery of Design: An Art Deco Diamond and Emerald Pin, 1927

Pin
Platinum, Gold, Diamonds, Stained Chalcedony, Emeralds
French, 1927
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Retailed by French jeweler Lacloche Frères in 1927, this sumptuous pin is the height of Art Deco style. Designed in the shape of a stylized Cyprus tree, the pin showcases the popular black and white style which dominated jewelry design of the 1920’s. Here, again, we find that black onyx has been substituted with stained chalcedony. A shock of color comes from beautiful natural emeralds.


Set in platinum with white gold prongs, the pin was bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Miss J.H.G. Gollan.

Reverse

The Home Beautiful: A Magnificent Enameled Presentation Box and Champagne Flute 17th-20th C.

Champagne Glass and Presentation Case
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click on image for larger size.

From the Royal Collection, we have this silver and blue enamel Art Deco pentagonal presentation box.  The two hinged front doors open to reveal a magnificent champagne glass on a silver stand.  Across the bottom of both doors and the silver stand, gilt metal plaques boast a continuous inscription which reads:

THIS ANCIENT ENGLISH CHAMPAGNE GLASS, MADE IN THE REIGN OF

KING CHARLES II,

SHORTLY AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF THE SPARKLING WINE OF CHAMPAGNE BY DOM PIERRE PERRIGNON, AND BELIEVED TO BE

THE OLDEST DRINKING VESSEL OF ITS KIND IN EXISTANCE, WAS PRESENTED WIH HOMAGE AND RESPECT TO THEIR MAJESTIES KING

GEORGE V AND QUEEN MARY TO MARK THE MEMORABLE AND HAPPY OCCASION OF THE SILVER JUBILEE OF THEIR ACCESION TO THE THRONE 16TH MAY, 1935 BY THE WINE PRODUCERS AND PEOPLE OF CHAMPAGNE.

The entire box fits into a red leather carry case designed and made by Hermès.

This late seventeenth-century lobed drinking glass with splayed rim sits upon a baluster stem and a circular and spirally-molded foot.

As impressive as this important glass is, the Art Deco presentation case is equally important.

Enameler Jean Goulden (1878-1946) was commissioned to create the case by the large Champagne houses (Reims and Épernay), grape growers, cork makers and glass makers, after the ;eague had collectively purchased the champagne glass in London on November 6, 1934 from the collection of Grant R. Francis, who was known as one of the most important glass collectors of the twentieth century. 

Goulden's original designs for the casket exist in the collection of his son.  The artist had originally studied medecine and art in Paris before becoming a major-doctor during the first world war,  being stationed in Macedonia where he remained for some time as the guest of the monks' communities of the Mont of Athos.  There, he studied Byzantine enamels in the company of Paul Jouve (1880-1973). 

When Goulden returned to France, he joined Jean Dunard (1877-1942) who introduced him to the champlevé enameling technique.  Known for their fineness and rarity, Goulden's works are considered the best of the era and he is considered important in the development of the Art Deco style in the decorative arts.  His work is characterized by stong black lines and bright colors, and the use of a geometric or cubist style.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Gérard Sandoz Cigarette Case, 1929

Click Image to Enlarge.
Cigarette Case
Sandoz of Paris, c. 1932
The Victoria & Albert Museum

As cigarette smoking became the stuff of the elegant and fashionable, suitably posh accessories were created by jewelers to cash-in on the deadly habit. Lighters, cigarette holders and cigarette cases were made of the finest metals and gems, and, give a pretty face to a nasty practice. 

Take this handsome cigarette case from Paris. Made in 1929 by Gérard Sandoz, the flat, rectangular case is characteristic of the geometry of Art Deco design. Sandoz was a top Parisian jeweler whose angular style was one of the most influential of any jeweler of his period. You can see his favored style here with the geometric pattern of green, black and white enamel on silver. A stripe below the triangular pattern of the case is inlaid with eggshell—an odd medium for the day. However, Sandoz was a proponent of incorporating new materials into jewelry, and, obviously, he was quite good at it.  

Print of the Day: Men's Evening Dress, 1920

Men's Fashion Plate
France, 1920
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’re accustomed to seeing fashion plates for women’s clothing—especially from the Victorian era. However, this fashion plate, from 1920, by Georges Gorvel shows men’s fashions. It is from the journal Gazette du Bon Ton (1912-1915, 1920-1925)—a journal which featured articles about theatre, travel and other pursuits of interest to the leisured wealthy man, but with a main emphasis which was always on fashion. The journal was intended for the Parisian élite, and was famed for introducing men’s fashions in color plates such as this one which anticipated the Art Deco style. The illustrations typically were stenciled by hand with watercolor in a technique known as pochoir.

This fashion plate from 1920 shows a smoking man in evening dress. He is elegantly dressed with tails and a top hat. The only hint of color in the glamorous image is his yellow glove.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: An Art Deco Platinum and Diamond Brooch, 1925

Brooch
Platinum and Diamonds
1925-1935
French
The Victoria & Albert Museum

King George V enjoyed giving little trinkets to his wife, Queen Mary, who always delighted in jewels and baubles. Mary was especially fond of diamond pieces which encouraged the play of light between the stones. This brooch, made in Europe between 1925 and 1935, is just the sort of thing that would have appealed to Mary of Teck.

Jewelry set only with diamonds has been created for centuries, however, the style really came into its own as it once again rose in prominence during the Art Deco period. During this creative era, jewelers experimented with various shapes and cuts of diamonds and devised new ways to fit them together.

This is the work of the jeweler Georges Fouquet who wrote in the Studio magazine in 1929, “But how new is this white stone jewellery, and how much it differs from the old... The wand-shaped brilliants give different reflections from the round ones, and the most varied play of light may be obtained by arranging them side by side.”