Van Cleef & Arpels

These jewels were formerly in the collection of Niomar Moniz Sodré Bittencourt

(1916–2003) and have thence been passed down by descent. 

Born in Brazil in 1916, Niomar Sodré had a keen eye for beauty and style. Madame Sodré was one of the leading figures of the avant-garde movement, frequently travelling from Brazil to Europe and the United States to meet with the greatest artists from the time such as Soulages, Giacommeti, Morandi, Brancusi and Duchamp. She was a great collector of artwork and along with her husband, Paulo Bittencourt, she founded the Rio Museum of Modern Art in the late 1940s. Madame Sodré was also a journalist and president of the daily newspaper, the Correio da Manhã from 1963 until 1969. She was passionate about defending the freedom of speech under the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil between 1964 and 1985.