ART NOUVEAU DIAMOND AND GLASS GRAPE BROOCH

A brooch of similar design, possibly by Fonsèque and Olive, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Also with realistically-rendered green glass grapes, the brooch at the V&A features three grapes, instead of the four seen here.

Jewelry designer Olive trained at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs and worked for Parisian jeweler and goldsmtih, Lucien Falize. In 1885, Olive went into partnership with jeweler Fonsèque, and their eponymous firm was founded. The pair went on to become successful producers of imaginative Art Nouveau designs, and the ones similar to this brooch, featuring coffee bean and grape motifs, were popular for a number of years.