Lot 154
  • 154

Gold, enamel and diamond gondola brooch, Carlo Giuliano, circa 1880

Estimate
35,000 - 45,000 USD
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Description

  • Carlo Giuliano
Realisticaly modeled in the form of a gondola decorated with twisted wire and granulation, the cabin enhanced with rose-cut diamonds and a ruby and diamond floret at the top, flanked by the figures of a gondoliere with oar in hand and a harlequin entering the cabin, both enameled en ronde bosse, signed C.G. 

Provenance

Sotheby's New York, June 15, 1987, lot 96.

Catalogue Note

This unusual three-dimensional brooch, enameled and jeweled on both sides, is a rare product of the Giuliano workshops. Its charming and light-hearted theme is puncuated by the figure of a masked harlequin who is found opening the door to the cabin, about to surprise whomever is inside. A second three-dimensional brooch, designed as a sailboat containing the three seated figures, possibly representing Mary, the Christ Child and St. John, is illustrated by Munn, Castellani and Giuliano, Revivalist Jewellers of the 19th Century, pl. 156.