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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Design for scallop-shaped brooch with floral motif for Seaman Schepps
Drawing by: Jordine Turboff (American (born in Russia))
Designed for: Seaman Schepps (American, founded in 1904)
Designed for: Seaman Schepps (American, founded in 1904)
American
1939–45
Object Place: New York City, United States
Medium/Technique
Watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper
Dimensions
Height x width: 7 x 8.5 cm (2 3/4 x 3 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf
Accession Number2009.4640
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Drawings
DescriptionThis is a drawing of an openwork brooch in a scallop shape with round white stones on the circumference as stylized stems with blue and red stones forming leaves and berries pointing inward. There is a matching design for an earring (2009.4641)
This design was created by Jordine Turboff who came from Russia as a small child and grew up in Brooklyn, New York where she attended Pratt University. She worked for Seaman Schepps from 1939-1945, and her clients ranged from movie stars such as Marlene Dietrich, the Barrymores, Errol Flynn (who would often flirt with her), and Merle Oberon, to Eleanor Roosevelt and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She would often say that Mrs. Simpson had a taste for the richest stones and for the simplest designs. Whe she left Schepps in 1945, Mr. Schepps gave her these drawings (production and finished) as a wedding present. The lot represents only a fraction of her work. After leaving Schepps, Ms. Turboff concentrated on her painting, then using her married and middle name "Yari Levine" and is listed in many publications, including Who's Who in American Women.
This design was created by Jordine Turboff who came from Russia as a small child and grew up in Brooklyn, New York where she attended Pratt University. She worked for Seaman Schepps from 1939-1945, and her clients ranged from movie stars such as Marlene Dietrich, the Barrymores, Errol Flynn (who would often flirt with her), and Merle Oberon, to Eleanor Roosevelt and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She would often say that Mrs. Simpson had a taste for the richest stones and for the simplest designs. Whe she left Schepps in 1945, Mr. Schepps gave her these drawings (production and finished) as a wedding present. The lot represents only a fraction of her work. After leaving Schepps, Ms. Turboff concentrated on her painting, then using her married and middle name "Yari Levine" and is listed in many publications, including Who's Who in American Women.
Provenance1939-1945, designed by artist Jordine Turboff for Seaman Schepps in New York City; 1945, given by Schepps to Turboff on the occasion of her wedding; by descent to Turboff's son; September 15, 2009, sold by Skinner Auctioneers of Boston (lot 515) to the MFA (Accession date: October 21, 2009)