.jpg?maxwidth=3840)
Lot 142|Property Formerly from the Collection of Wilhelmina Beatrice Houdini
ANTIQUE DIAMOND SUNBURST PENDANT BROOCH
Closed23 September 2021
Price Realised
USD 6,250
More Information
ANTIQUE DIAMOND SUNBURST PENDANT BROOCH
Old-cut diamond of 1.75 carats, old-cut diamonds, platinum-topped gold, circa 1910
Diamonds: 1 round diamond weighing 1.75 carats; 91 round diamonds with approximate total weight of 4.75 - 5.25 carats. Total diamond weight: 6.5 - 7.00 carats.
Size/Dimensions: 5.1 cm (2 in)
Gross Weight: 20.1 grams
Old-cut diamond of 1.75 carats, old-cut diamonds, platinum-topped gold, circa 1910
Diamonds: 1 round diamond weighing 1.75 carats; 91 round diamonds with approximate total weight of 4.75 - 5.25 carats. Total diamond weight: 6.5 - 7.00 carats.
Size/Dimensions: 5.1 cm (2 in)
Gross Weight: 20.1 grams
ANTIQUE DIAMOND SUNBURST PENDANT BROOCH
Old-cut diamond of 1.75 carats, old-cut diamonds, platinum-topped gold, circa 1910
Diamonds: 1 round diamond weighing 1.75 carats; 91 round diamonds with approximate total weight of 4.75 - 5.25 carats. Total diamond weight: 6.5 - 7.00 carats.
Size/Dimensions: 5.1 cm (2 in)
Gross Weight: 20.1 grams
Old-cut diamond of 1.75 carats, old-cut diamonds, platinum-topped gold, circa 1910
Diamonds: 1 round diamond weighing 1.75 carats; 91 round diamonds with approximate total weight of 4.75 - 5.25 carats. Total diamond weight: 6.5 - 7.00 carats.
Size/Dimensions: 5.1 cm (2 in)
Gross Weight: 20.1 grams
Harry Houdini is one of the most famous magicians of all time, known for his daring feats of escape, illusions and life-threatening stunts. Born Eric Weisz in Budapest, Hungary in 1874, Houdini moved to Appleton, Wisconsin at the age of four and settled in New York at age 13. Weisz launched his career as a magician in 1864 under the name Harry Houdini. The name, inspired by the French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin and Weisz’s own childhood nickname ‘Ehri’, would become synonymous with the world of illusion for centuries to come.
In 1894, he married his fellow performer, Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner. Beatrice ‘Bess’ Houdini was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1876 and was first courted by Houdini’s younger brother while working at Coney Island in a song and dance act called The Floral Sisters. Bess would go on to marry Harry and became his lifelong stage assistant, making his costumes and caring for their menagerie of pets. She was also honorary and active member of Magigals, the first magic organization exclusively for women.
Houdini freed himself from jails, chains, handcuffs, straightjackets, water-filled tanks and nailed packing crates. These marvelous feats risking life and limb thrilled his audiences and made him the highest paid performer in American vaudeville at the time. The hallmark of Houdini’s career was the Chinese Water Torture Cell, where he was suspended by his feet and lowered upside-down in a locked glass cabinet filled with water, requiring him to hold his breath for more than three minutes to escape.
Outside of his magician’s act, Houdini made short films and eventually starred in full length movies including The Grim Game (1909) and Terror Island (1920). He was fascinated with aviation and purchased a Viosin biplane, which he brought on his Australian tour and became the first person on the continent to fly.
The present lot was a special gift given to Bess Houdini from Harry Houdini to commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary. She can be seen in the accompanying photography wearing the brooch at a Magigals party in Los Angeles in 1941 at the Thayer Studio Theatre.
In 1894, he married his fellow performer, Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner. Beatrice ‘Bess’ Houdini was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1876 and was first courted by Houdini’s younger brother while working at Coney Island in a song and dance act called The Floral Sisters. Bess would go on to marry Harry and became his lifelong stage assistant, making his costumes and caring for their menagerie of pets. She was also honorary and active member of Magigals, the first magic organization exclusively for women.
Houdini freed himself from jails, chains, handcuffs, straightjackets, water-filled tanks and nailed packing crates. These marvelous feats risking life and limb thrilled his audiences and made him the highest paid performer in American vaudeville at the time. The hallmark of Houdini’s career was the Chinese Water Torture Cell, where he was suspended by his feet and lowered upside-down in a locked glass cabinet filled with water, requiring him to hold his breath for more than three minutes to escape.
Outside of his magician’s act, Houdini made short films and eventually starred in full length movies including The Grim Game (1909) and Terror Island (1920). He was fascinated with aviation and purchased a Viosin biplane, which he brought on his Australian tour and became the first person on the continent to fly.
The present lot was a special gift given to Bess Houdini from Harry Houdini to commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary. She can be seen in the accompanying photography wearing the brooch at a Magigals party in Los Angeles in 1941 at the Thayer Studio Theatre.