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Emerald and diamond brooch
The markets that supplied the Mughal emperors with luxury goods offered products from both Europe and Asia. The New World, too, became a source of precious materials in the 16th century, when emeralds likely mined in Colombia or Ecuador arrived in India on Portuguese ships. The green stones were particular favorites, valued for their hardness and the uniform structure that made them particularly well suited for carving. The front face of the large central emerald here was probably carved in the 17th century, while the back face seems to reflect a later phase of work, possibly in the 18th century. A channel at the top allowed it to be strung on a necklace, perhaps in combination with rubies and pearls. In the late 1920s, the emerald was reworked into this bold Art Deco jewel that was a prized possession of the heiress and art collector Marjorie Merriweather Post.
View: Front
Marjorie Merriweather Post brooch
Emerald and diamond brooch
American
1929
Medium/Technique
Platinum, diamond, emerald
Dimensions
Overall: 5.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 cm (2 1/16 x 2 1/8 x 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
William Francis Warden Fund, Marshall H. Gould Fund, Frank B. Bemis Fund, Mary S. and Edward J. Holmes Fund, John H. and Ernestine A. Payne Fund, Otis Norcross Fund, Helen and Alice Colburn Fund, William E. Nickerson Fund, Arthur Tracy Cabot Fund, Edwin E. Jack Fund, Frederick Brown Fund, Elizabeth Marie Paramino Fund in memory of John F. Paramino, Boston Sculptor, Morris and Louise Rosenthal Fund, Harriet Otis Cruft Fund, H.E. Bolles Fund, Seth K. Sweetser Fund, Helen B. Sweeney Fund, Ernest Kahn Fund, Arthur Mason Knapp Fund, John Wheelock Elliot and John Morse Elliot Fund, Susan Cornelia Warren Fund, Mary L. Smith Fund, Samuel Putnam Avery Fund, Alice M. Bartlett Fund, Benjamin Pierce Cheney Donation, Frank M. and Mary T. B. Ferrin Fund, and Joyce Arnold Rusoff Fund
Accession Number2008.179
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Brooches
The markets that supplied the Mughal emperors with luxury goods offered products from both Europe and Asia. The New World, too, became a source of precious materials in the 16th century, when emeralds likely mined in Colombia or Ecuador arrived in India on Portuguese ships. The green stones were particular favorites, valued for their hardness and the uniform structure that made them particularly well suited for carving. The front face of the large central emerald here was probably carved in the 17th century, while the back face seems to reflect a later phase of work, possibly in the 18th century. A channel at the top allowed it to be strung on a necklace, perhaps in combination with rubies and pearls. In the late 1920s, the emerald was reworked into this bold Art Deco jewel that was a prized possession of the heiress and art collector Marjorie Merriweather Post.
DescriptionThe 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.
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.
Marks
Impressed MARCUS & CO. on reverse. Two sets of the same scratched number (0905z) on reverse.
ProvenanceMarjorie Merriweather Post (b. 1887- d. 1973), New York; given by Post to her daughter, Eleanor Close Barzin (d. 2006) [see note 1]; 2007, sold by a representative of the family to Friman & Stein, New York; January 2008, sold by Friman & Stein to Hancocks, London; June 2008, sold by Hancocks to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2008)
NOTES:
[1] Mrs. Post gave the brooch to one of her two daughters from her first marriage to Edward Bennett Close; according to a family member, this was her second daughter, Eleanor Close Barzin.
NOTES:
[1] Mrs. Post gave the brooch to one of her two daughters from her first marriage to Edward Bennett Close; according to a family member, this was her second daughter, Eleanor Close Barzin.
CopyrightReproduced with permission.