VINTAGE EARLY MIRIAM HASKELL UNSIGNED PINK ART GLASS DOME & GOLD FILIGREE BROOCH

Description: THE FINE DETAILING IN THIS WONDERFUL EARLY VINTAGE ART GLASS BROOCH POINT TO MIRIAM HASKELL AS THE MAKER: THE LAYERED, BEAUTIFULLY-DETAILED FILIGREE IS INTRICATE AND VERY SOLID, CHARACTERISTIC OF THE FINE QUALITY OF THE FILIGREE IN HER SIGNED PIECES -- THE WEIGHTINESS OF THE BROOCH, EVEN THE THICKNESS OF THE PIN BACK ITSELF, IS A FEATURE OF MIRIAM HASKELL PIECES, AS IS THE FINE DETAILING EVEN OF THE PRONGS USED TO SET THE BEAUTIFUL QUALITY STRIATED-PINK HIGH DOME ART GLASS CABOCHON NESTLED I THE CENTER. JUST FABULOUS QUALITY IN EVERY DETAIL. THIS IS AN EARLY PIECE IN OVERALL EXCELLENT VINTAGE / PRE OWNED CONDITION. I SEE A SLIGHT DARKENING OF THE GOLD PLATING ON THE PRONGS THAT HOLD THE FIVE ACCENT ART-GLASS STONES. I HAVE NOT ATTEMPTED TO CLEAN THIS PIECE--THE PRONGS MAY POSSIBLY BRIGHTEN UPON CLEANING. I THINK IT LOOKS FABULOUS JUST AS IT IS. FROM AN ESTATE. EVERY STONE IS PERFECT, THE YELLOW GOLD PLATING OF THE FILIGREE IS AGLOW. 1-3/4" IN DIAMETER AND IT DOMES-UP 1/2" HIGH. LOVELY IN EVERY WAY!! YOU'LL BE SO PLEASED. Miriam Haskell (July 1, 1899-July 14, 1981) was an American costume jewelry designer. Haskell founded her own company, one that still bears her name. With her creative partner Frank Hess, she invented affordable pieces of stunning originality from 1920 through the 1950s. Vintage examples and samples of Miriam Haskell designs are now much sought, held in both private collections and museums internationally. Haskell was born in Indiana of Russian Jewish immigrant parents and helped in her family's a dry-goods store; after high school she studied for three years at Chicago University. Moving to New York City in 1924 with $500 in her pocket, she opened a jewelry boutique in 1926 in the old McAlpinn Hotel--and a second outlet within the year at West 57th Street. Frank Hess joined her business that year. Despite some controversy concerning the extent to which the magnificent jewelry designs are Haskell's or Hess', the two worked together until Miriam left the company; Hess continued to design for many years afterwards. In the 1930s, the company relocated to 392 Fifth Avenue; their affordable art glass, strass and gold-plate parures were wildly popular throughout the Great Depression, and the company went on to open boutiques at Saks Fifth Avenue and Burdine's, as well as stores in Miami and London. Miriam Haskell jewelry was worn for publicity shots, films, and personal use by movies stars such as Joan Crawford and Lucille Ball, as well as by socialites (Gloria Vanderbilt) and even royalty (the Dutchess of Windsor). Crawford owned a set of almost every Haskell ever produced, from the 1920s through the 1960s. A line of classic baroque pearls supports the company's more colorful and experimental designs, but there are few venues the Haskell jewelers have not explored. Her workshop of craftsmen, many of whom were European refugees, was well paid for their strenuous work of wiring complex motifs built up of beads and strass montees to filigree backings. Noted for the superior quality of their materials and the exquisitely painstaking detail of their execution, Miriam Haskell's vintage pieces command high prices and are prized by collectors.Today Miriam Haskell jewelry is highly sought after by costume jewelry enthusiasts; her vintage pieces command high prices and are prized by collectors. Interestingly, her jewelry was very seldom signed before 1950; it was her brother Joseph Haskell who introduced the first regularly signed Miriam Haskell pieces. For a very short time during the 1940s, a shop in New England did request all pieces they received be signed by Miriam. This signature was a horseshoe-shaped plaque with Miriam Haskell embossed on it. A piece with this signature would indeed be a rare find. Pieces by Robert Clark who designed for her are exceptionally collectable also.Haskell traveled with her designer Hess in search of materials to Paris, Gablonz, Venice, and Wattens, home of Daniel Swarovski's crystal factory. Haskell was involved in disaster relief efforts and most conscientiously to the war effort during World War II, and asked Hess to create new patriotic metalfree jewelry designs, using natural materials and plastics.The horror of World War II affected her health and emotional stability; in her fifties, she became ill, and in 1950, lost control of her company to her brothers. Living in an apartment on Central Park South through the next decades, she became increasingly erratic in her behavior. In 1977, she moved to Cincinnati, and was cared for by her nephew until she died in 1981. It was a sad ending for an exceptional life, but, as Pamfiloff writes, "Obviously, the legacy of her dream has filtered on down through the decades. It was a man’s world. Designers were men. The owners of companies were men. The staff was men. The salesmen were men. It was all men. And then you had Coco Chanel, who just jumped right out there, and a couple of other women who carved out their own niche in the world. Haskell did that, too."

Price: 49.99 USD

Location: Rochester, New York

End Time: 2024-11-07T03:02:47.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD