Peter Schaffer on Antiques Roadshow, March 31st

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Tune in to Antiques Roadshow on PBS this Monday night, March 31st, at 8 pm, to see our very own Mr. Peter Schaffer appraise jewelry.

Some of his appraisals can be viewed on the Antiques Roadshow website here.

World War I Era Fabergé

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Faberge copper pot

At the time of the Great War, the sons of Russian nobility wrote to their mothers that they had food at the front, but had nothing to cook it in. In response, their mothers commissioned cookware by Fabergé, not knowing of any other sources.

For the centennial of World War I, we present one such object: a copper and brass soup pot lined in pewter, with the imperial warrant and “K. Fabergé/war/1914” stamped in Cyrillic on its underside. Simple and utilitarian, lacking ostentation and splendor, it is an object unexpected from the jeweler’s workshops.

Fabergé adapted to the drop in orders and wartime austerity measures by making items out of less expensive metals like copper and gunmetal. However, some of these items merely feigned austerity and there are some silver objects ‘gilded’ to resemble copper and brass.

Nonetheless, Fabergé contributed much to supporting the war effort. Early in the war Fabergé offered his workshops for making munitions, but did not begin doing so until a year later when he finally received a response to his offer. His silver factory in Moscow produced hand grenades and casings for artillery shells and his Petrograd workshops made syringes and other smaller items.

Fabergé lost much of his workforce to conscription and pleaded with the authorities to allow twenty-three to remain who were particularly vital to the business, including the only master enameler remaining.

Fabergé wartime objects like this soup pot represent a turning point in history. The revolution and civil war that followed ensured there would not be a return to the opulence of preceding centuries. And so this soup pot, a Fabergé piece stripped of the gilding, enameling, and fine jewels long associated with that name, is made out of practicality rather than ornament, marking the end of an era.

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1920s Diamond Four-Leaf Clover Brooch

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Pavé diamond 4-leaf clover brooch with leaves in the shape of hearts, mounted in platinum.

By Caldwell & Company, American, ca. 1925.
Length: 1 5/8 in.
(approximately 12 cts)

$18,000

This item is available for purchase in our online shop and in our 745 Fifth Avenue galleries.

1920s Diamond Four-Leaf Clover Brooch, back

 

Vintage 1920s Diamond Swan Brooch

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Pavé diamond swan brooch set in platinum and gold swimming on a pond of calibré cut sapphires.
The French firm Hartz developed a reputation for jewelry designs featuring animals and mythological creatures. Swimming on a pond of sapphires, this swan brooch features the kind of playfulness associated with Hartz.

French, by Hartz, ca. 1920
Width: 1 1/4 in.

$24,000

1920s Diamond Swan Brooch, back

Vintage 1950s Diamond Fish Brooch

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Pavé diamond salmon brooch mounted in 18K white gold with a ruby eye.

American, ca. 1950.
Width: 2 in.
(approximately 6 cts)

$19,500

1950s Diamond Fish Brooch, back

TEFAF Maastricht 2014

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We have been busy getting ready for the world’s premier art show, The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht, Holland. It will run from March 12th through the 24th.

The show has its origins as the “Pictura Fine Art Fair,” opening in 1975 with a specialty in Old Master paintings and medieval sculptures. Over the years, the show expanded to include textiles, Modern and Contemporary painting, jewelry, books and manuscripts, and Classical Antiquities. 275 galleries from 20 countries now exhibit at the Fair, bringing an outstanding range of art and antiques. Whether one is looking for furniture, paintings, jewelry, musical instruments, or carpets, all can be found at TEFAF, and then some.

Antique Diamond Peony BroochOur highlights include a selection of our antique jewels: a nineteenth-century Russian diamond brooch in the form of a peony, set en tremblant, and a diamond and peridot dragonfly, also set en tremblant.

We are also bringing a selection of Faberge animals, such as a group of hardstone circus elephants, including a jasper one with rose diamond eyes once owned by HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, son of King George V and Queen Mary.

Further information regarding tickets and more can be found on the TEFAF website.

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