Matthew Barton Ltd.
Lot 706
EIGHTEEN CARAT GOLD, ENAMEL AND DIAMOND BROOCH, FRENCH, LATE 19TH CENTURYdesigned as an orchid decorated naturalistically in matte and translucent enamel with rose and circular diamond detailing, French assay mark, detachable brooch fitting, in a fitted later case stamped ‘Tessier’Flowers feature in jewellery from earliest times, but the 19th century is arguably when they bloomed most prolifically. New species of flowering plants were pouring in from all over the world and jewellers began to focus on ever greater accuracy in their imitations of nature. By the end of the century many were suffering from ‘Orchidomania’ or ‘Orchidelirium’. New species of the exotic flower were sort after by obsessive collectors and became symbols of wealth and power. Joseph Chamberlain, Britain’s Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1895, was never seen in public without an orchid in his button hole. Plants were dispatched daily from London to his Highbury estate near Birmingham, where he nurtured them in his orchid house. The Parisian jewellers, Duval and le Turq created an exceptional series of orchid and butterfly jewels which were exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889 (D.Bennet & D.Mascetti, Understanding Jewellery, ACC Books Ltd, 2017, pl.344). At the same time Tiffany & Co.’s head designer, Paulding Farnham, designed twenty-five similarly enamelled orchid brooches. They were awarded the Gold Medal and sold out by the second day. Jay Gould, the American financier, who also collected real orchids, purchased a number of the Tiffany jewelled versions for his wife. Tiffany went on to design a further forty-one different varieties which sold in their London and Paris shops. Each enamelled orchid brooch was precisely modelled on an exotic variety using the latest reference book, or sketched straight from newly imported specimens. Ecstatic at their success, John Loring, Tiffany’s design director, declared: ‘Nature sells!’
![Commemorative medals, Foreign medals, Mauritius [British], silver medal of the Institut à la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie [Insti](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/d845ad19-b99b-45d9-a2a4-a8e100a84f11/f2798779-a273-484f-91a2-7c15f82f400f/468x382.jpg)
