Ruby and diamond 'honeycomb heart' brooch and matching earclips, Salvador Dali, circa 1953-54

Designed as asymmetrical hearts, the borders clustered with numerous round rubies, the openwork centers of gold honeycomb design studded with round diamonds, each suspending a gold 'honey drop' pendant, mounted in 18 karat gold, each signed Dali in script. With two original leather boxes stamped Alemany & Ertman, Jewels by Salvador Dali. 

Property from Lady Meylert Melville Armstrong, Sotheby's New York, December 10, 1986, lot 253. (brooch)

The Andy Warhol Collection, Jewelry and Watches, April 27, 1988, lot 2119. (earclips)

Impressionist and Modern Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, Sotheby's New York, June 14, 1985, lot 125 (earclips)

Alemany & Ertman, New York (earclips)

"There's a little bit of sweetness in the heart of every woman," quoted Salvador Dali. With this in mind, he created the 'honeycomb hearts' offered here. The hearts were made by Charles Vaillant from Dali's designs in 1953-54 and were retailed by Alemany & Ertman located  at 745 Fifth Avenue in New York. 

The 'honeycomb heart'  brooch offered in this sale is one of only two known in existence. The second example, made for the Owen Cheatham Foundation, is illustrated in Dali: A Study of his Art-in-Jewels, The Collection of The Owen Cheatham Foundation, p. 19, pl. II.  This brooch also appears in Modern Jewelry by Graham Hughes, p. 171, pl. 321 and in Dali Jewels-Joyas, The Collection of the Gala-Salvadore Dali Foundation, p. 55. An original design for the 'honeycomb heart' also appears in this last  publication.

As an introduction to the The Owen Cheatham Foundation and Dali Jewels-Joyas catalogues, Dali stated: "The jeweled pieces- ornaments, medals, crosses, objets d'art-you find in this book were not conceived to rest soullessly in steel vaults. They were created to please the eye, uplift the spirit, stir the imagination, express convictions. Without an audience, without the presence of spectators, these jewels would not fulfill the function for which they came into being. The viewer, then, is the ultimate artist."