Christie’s roundel
Lot 1115

A SET OF ART DECO EBONY AND CHROME JEWELRY, BY JEAN FOUQUET

Closed21 October 2009

Price Realised

USD 62,500

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A SET OF ART DECO EBONY AND CHROME JEWELRY, BY JEAN FOUQUET
Comprising a necklace, designed as a polished ebony torque, set with four articulated chrome discs, mounted in 18k gold; and a bracelet, designed as an ebony bangle, inlaid with two chrome bands, circa 1931, necklace 16½ ins., bracelet 2½ ins. diameter, necklace with French assay marks and maker's marks
Each signed Jean Fouquet, bracelet no. 23454 (2)

Specialist note

Jean Fouquet (1899-1994) was at the center of the Modernist movement in Paris at the time of the 1925 Exposition. When he joined his father Georges Fouquet at the family firm, he became a leading jewelry designer and critic in the Art Deco movement. In his 1931 book Jewelry and Gold, he wrote that "jewelry and gold pieces must be works of art while also responding to the same needs as industrial objects."
This set of ebony and chrome jewlery exemplifies the African-inspired designs of the late Art Deco movement. Ebony and disks are common motifs in African jewelry, but the shiny chrome is a novel medium. The bracelet's design was inspired by the 1920s socialite Nancy Cunard, whose trademark was an armful of wide African-inspired bangles.