Art as Jewelry as Art
Art as Jewelry as Art
A European Private Collector
Franco Cannilla
Gold and Ruby Horse-Head Brooch
Lot Closed
October 6, 04:24 PM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A European Private Collector
Franco Cannilla
1911 - 1985
Gold and Ruby Horse-Head Brooch
circa 1960s, unique, signed Cannilla, stamped MASENZAROMA
18k gold horse-head brooch with eleven rubies for the mane and one round white faceted diamond for the eye, sold with Britt Ekland framed color print, photo by Slim Aarons, 1969.
1⅜ by 2 in.; 3.5 by 5 cm.
Private Collection, United States
Filiberto Menna, Mostra Antologica Di Franco Cannilla, Caltagirone, 1981, ill. p. 9 for similar example
Luisa Somaini and Claudio Cerritelli, Jewelry by Artists in Italy: 1945-1995, Electa, Milan, 1995, p. 76 for other Cannilla examples
Martine Newby Haspeslagh, Jewels of the Italian Modern Masters, Didier Ltd., London, 2015, p. 12 for similar brooch
Cynthia Amnéus, Cameron Silver, and Adam MacPhàrlain, Simply Brilliant: Artist-jewelers of the 1960s and 1970s, D. Giles, Lewes, UK, 2020, p. 92
Gold and Ruby Horse-Head Brooch by Franco Cannilla is an excellent example of a unique and ornate jewelry design intended as a small sculpture to be worn, or as Alexander Calder described such pieces: ‘living works of art.’