Magnificent and Rare Egyptian-Revival Faience and Jeweled Brooch, Cartier, London
Designed as an Egyptian fan, or flabellum, centering an ancient green glazed faience bust of the goddess Sekhmet, depicted with a solar disc and a uraeus (cobra) upon her head, set against a lapis lazuli sky twinkling with diamond stars bordered by a black enamel aureole and repeating diamond-set stylized lotus motif, all surmounting a stylized lotus blossom; set in platinum and 18 karat gold with a total of 11 single-cut and 89 old European-cut diamonds; the back of the brooch fitted with an 18 karat gold crook, a symbol of state power in Egypt when held by the pharaohs in conjunction with a flail, placed as the connecting support element for the faience relic, signed Cartier Londres, numbered S.L 7353; circa 1923. With original fitted box stamped Cartier.
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Saleroom Notice
French Industrial Exposition, Grand Central Palace, New York, New York, April 22-May 3, 1924.
The Illustrated London News,
January 26, 1924, "The 'Tutankhamen' Influence in Modern Jewelry," which includes this brooch and indicates the range of pieces incorporating ancient fragments produced by Cartier London in the year and a half since the opening of Tutankhamen's tomb in November 1922.
Cartier: 1900-1939 by Judy Rudoe, pages 136-138.
The Impossible Collection: The 100 Most Important Jewels of the Twentieth Century by Vivienne Becker, plate 20.