Peacock Minaudiere 2006

The Peacock Minaudiere was inspired by the peacocks in the artglass designs of Louis Comfort Tiffany and by Carl Peter Faberge's Pine Cone Egg of 1900. Nineteen hundred was the year that Louis Comfort Tiffany started designing glass using natural motifs.

Peacock Minaudiere:  $4,985 ea

The Pine Cone Egg was Czar Nicholas II's Easter gift to his mother, Marie Feodorovna, the Dowager Empress. The top has diamonds mounted in gold, each covering one number of the gift year. The egg is enameled in a deep cobalt blue. The crescents of the pine cone tips contain diamonds in graduated sizes. The Pine Cone Egg is now part of a private collection in California.

At fin du siècle, the art worlds of Europe and North America were falling in love with Art Nouveau and the opalescent glow of Tiffany's new art glass. In Russia, royalty and the Beau Monde were falling in love with Faberge.

Peter Carl Faberge revolutionized the way jewelry was valued. Prior to his startling designs, jewelry was valued for the monetary consideration of the jewels and minerals used. Suddenly, jewelry was valued for the design of setting over the value of the components.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was a strong proponent of the Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau, both of which gave a higher status to the decorative arts. William Morris and Alphonse Mucha were other strong leaders in these movements. Tiffany embodied the artistic spirit of the Gilded Age. His glass works were a "feast of colour, light, and texture" according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Faberge's approach to art design was highly intellectual - the rhythms of his design compositions were highly regulated. Tiffany's approach was sensory - the rhythms of his designs were composed of irregularly cascading and floating motifs. Tiffany's sole goal was the pursuit of beauty.

This Peacock minaudiere marries both the intellectual and sensory elements of fine art design.

This luxury evening purse is approximately 6.5" by 4" (18cm by 10cm). Inside is a small beveled mirror and hand-dyed silk lining. It arrives with two chains: one for shoulder wear and a short one for hand-carrying. It can also be carried as a clutch without either chain. The chains and all metal components are gold plate with the exception of the purse chain eyelets: they are made of a stronger metal. An artist Certificate of Authenticity as well as a jewelers' polishing cloth is enclosed. The purse is swathed in a silk velvet bag carefully nested within an elegant gift box. The Peacock minaudiere is signed and numbered by Mme. Carlin.

Peacock Minaudiere:  $4,985 ea

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