http://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1337285/resize%3Aformat%3Dfull;jsessionid=EA10EB5191E816D8CEA3AFDB287372B2Emerald and diamond brooch (known as the Post Brooch)1929Oscar Heyman Bros.Platinum, diamond, emeraldThe platinum and diamond brooch features a 60-carat emerald at its center. Carved in India in the 17th century, the emerald displays iris blossoms on the front. The reverse, carved later, features a carnation flower. An agent of the American retailer Marcus & Co. purchased the emerald in Bombay in the 1920s—after it was likely removed from a more traditional Indian ornament. Suspended from the center of the brooch, the emerald is rounded on both sides and framed by a horizontal bar with two large table-cut emeralds and diamond swag with 13 tear-shaped emeralds drops. Oscar Heyman Bros. fabricated the brooch, and a pencil drawing of the design can be found in the company’s archives. This important ornament was owned by Marjorie Mariweather Post, a socialite and the owner of General Foods. Post was a serious collector of jewelry. Emeralds were a favorite and she purchased others around the same time in anticipation of her presentation at the Court of Saint James. While this carved emerald brooch never made it to her royal court presentation, it remained a treasured part of Post’s jewelry collection. She wore it in two painted portraits—one of which still hangs in her bedroom at Hillwood, her home-turned-museum outside Washington, DC—and in photographs throughout her lifetime. It was always prominently positioned at the center of a low-cut neckline and paired with other important necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Jewelry / Adornment5.3000000000 Centimeter5.3000000000 Inches1.1000000000 Centimeter1.1000000000 CentimeterReproduced with permission.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/detailsrdf/514985;jsessionid=EA10EB5191E816D8CEA3AFDB287372B2