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Lot 57 |FORMERLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MRS. GEORGE WASHINGTON KAVANAUGH
A GOLD DRESSING SET, BY CARTIER
Closed20 June 2017
Price Realised
USD 30,000
More Information
A GOLD DRESSING SET, BY CARTIER
A twelve piece dressing set comprising a hand mirror, cylindrical etched glass jar with gold top, cylindrical gold jar, picture frame, box of rectangular outline, two clothes brushes, one hair brush, tray, shoe horn, button hook and comb handle, all in textured 14k gold, some with rose gold accents, 9 1/2 ins. (largest) to 2 3/4 ins. (smallest)
Frame and tray signed Cartier
Glass jar, shoe horn, comb handle and button hook unsigned
All other pieces signed Cartier, New York
A twelve piece dressing set comprising a hand mirror, cylindrical etched glass jar with gold top, cylindrical gold jar, picture frame, box of rectangular outline, two clothes brushes, one hair brush, tray, shoe horn, button hook and comb handle, all in textured 14k gold, some with rose gold accents, 9 1/2 ins. (largest) to 2 3/4 ins. (smallest)
Frame and tray signed Cartier
Glass jar, shoe horn, comb handle and button hook unsigned
All other pieces signed Cartier, New York
A GOLD DRESSING SET, BY CARTIER
A twelve piece dressing set comprising a hand mirror, cylindrical etched glass jar with gold top, cylindrical gold jar, picture frame, box of rectangular outline, two clothes brushes, one hair brush, tray, shoe horn, button hook and comb handle, all in textured 14k gold, some with rose gold accents, 9 1/2 ins. (largest) to 2 3/4 ins. (smallest)
Frame and tray signed Cartier
Glass jar, shoe horn, comb handle and button hook unsigned
All other pieces signed Cartier, New York
A twelve piece dressing set comprising a hand mirror, cylindrical etched glass jar with gold top, cylindrical gold jar, picture frame, box of rectangular outline, two clothes brushes, one hair brush, tray, shoe horn, button hook and comb handle, all in textured 14k gold, some with rose gold accents, 9 1/2 ins. (largest) to 2 3/4 ins. (smallest)
Frame and tray signed Cartier
Glass jar, shoe horn, comb handle and button hook unsigned
All other pieces signed Cartier, New York
The following six lots, formerly from the Collection of Mrs. George Washington Kavanaugh, comprise a lovely selection of jewels from the famous socialite's collection. A staple of New York City society events during the first half of the 20th century, Mrs. George Washington Kavanaugh was the wife of wealthy manufacturer Colonel George Washington Kavanaugh. She was famous not only for her fashion sense and abundance of fine jewelry, but also for wearing cascading orchid corsages, tiaras, and courting the press by sending waiting photographers bottles of champagne. Immortalized on November 22, 1943 in the iconic photograph by Weegee published in Life magazine titled “The Critic”, Mrs. Kavanaugh is shown alongside her friend Lady Deices (Elizabeth Wharton Drexel) on opening night of the Metropolitan Opera. The image, widely seen as a social criticism on inequality in America, shows Mrs. Kavanaugh in a tiara and fine fur, dripping with jewels and donning her signature orchid corsage, as a shabby woman gawks, open mouthed, at the glitzy spectacle striding past. The photograph was actually staged, with Weegee even going so far as having an assistant bring the woman uptown from the Bowery and making sure she had plenty of alcohol. Nonetheless, the image still resonates today as a powerful snapshot of New York City life from a bygone era and has been called one of the most influential photographs of the 20th century.