Van Cleef & Arpels

Sylvie Raulet, Van Cleef & Arpels, Paris, 1986, p. 190 for a gouaché by René-Sim Lacaze, dated to 1937, featuring a similar double-clip brooch set with rubies and diamonds.

Van Cleef & Arpels at the Egyptian Court

King Farouk’s mother Nazli Sabri (1894-1978) and his two eldest sisters, the Princesses Fawzia (1921-2013) and Faiza (1923-1994), were amongst Van Cleef & Arpels’ most prolific clients during the 1930s and 40s. The extraordinarily elegant Princesses of the Royal family presided over what was arguably the most luxurious court in the world at the time. Other members of the Royal family, such as Princess Neslishah Sultan, the wife of King Farouk’s heir presumptive, were therefore naturally also patrons of the famous French maison.

The most illustrious commission in Van Cleef & Arpels’ history was placed in 1939 when Princess Fawzia married Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980), the later Shah of Iran. Her mother Queen Nazli ordered not one, but two sumptuous diamond parures each composed of a tiara, a bib-style necklace and a pair of pendent earrings, both for herself and the bride. Sotheby’s had the privilege of offering Queen Nazli’s extraordinary diamond necklace in 2015 (Magnificent Jewels, Sotheby’s New York, 9 December 2015, lot 506), it is now part of the Van Cleef & Arpels collection.

Princess Faiza’s collection featured some of the most iconic and recognisable jewels ever produced by Van Cleef & Arpels. She owned a sumptuous art deco fringe necklace set with drop-shaped emeralds which had been manufactured for the stock of Van Cleef & Arpels in the late 1920s. Her most important purchase was a pair of mystery-set ruby and diamond brooches designed as highly three-dimensional peonies, which were created in 1937. Furthermore, she was known to have owned numerous other mystery-set jewels including a scalloped bracelet, as well as a large diamond bangle and a ballerina brooch.