The first auction of the 2022 Sotheby's Asian New Year will be held in February, and Ba Zhu Jie found that the protagonist of the poster was a Van Cleef & Arpels haute couture dragonfly brooch, why choose this jewelry? In addition to scarcity, I am afraid that it is still the beautiful meaning contained in "dragonfly", after all, in traditional Chinese culture it symbolizes prosperity and harmony, and is there a new year blessing more appropriate than it?
Van Cleef & Arpels The world's only emerald, sapphire with diamond dragonfly pin Estimate: HK$3,000,000 – HK$4,000,000
With its bizarre body, the dragonfly is a mythologized natural creature. In traditional Chinese culture, dragonflies represent "eternal youth", "pavilion and jade", and "affection", so they often appear on women's hairpins.
Qing Dynasty dragonfly hairpins
Interestingly, when the dragonfly appears alone, it often represents a wish for a woman, but when it appears with a lotus flower and a heron, it expresses "all the way clean" (harmonic sound), mostly to express wishes for a man's career.
In the Qing Dynasty, because of the harmonic sound, it became a symbol of "Great Qing Stability", and mostly appeared in court supplies, especially when it appeared with the "treasure vase" pattern, which implied "peace in the Qing court", representing the prosperity and harmony of the country.
The Palace Museum has a collection of gold-encrusted gemstone dragonflies
In Western culture, dragonflies symbolize love, growth, new development, and adaptability. Ancient Egyptians made it into amulets, and many Native American tribes believed that the dragonfly was a medicinal animal with special powers, while in the hearts of the Indians, it was the embodiment of purity and happiness.
During the Art Nouveau period, dragonflies became one of the most famous themes in jewelry design, as Art Nouveau drew a great deal of inspiration from Japanese culture, and in Japan, dragonflies often appeared in works of art and literary creations, especially in Haiku poems, symbolizing rebirth, courage, strength, and happiness.
Of course, there is another reason why ancient and modern Chinese and foreign jewelry masters like dragonflies, because this insect presents a rainbow of brilliant colors, while its wings are as thin as cicada wings but change color with the light, which itself carries a mysterious charm, bringing enough space for designers to show in color, material and craftsmanship. According to the book, in the post-Tang Dynasty, there was a method of decorating the head with dragonfly wings as flower tin.
In the West, art nouveau jewelers were particularly inspired by dragonflies, as its outstretched wings, long hind limbs and solid body gave it the best "stage" for gem-settings. The texture and slight translucency on the wings perfectly illustrate the translucent enamel process of plique-a-jour ("let the sun in" in French) – supporting the hollow pattern with copper foil or similar sheets of metal and filling the pattern with enamel powder. It is then fired, and then the flakes are removed by means of a tap or an acidic substance, leaving the enamel transparent and beautiful and sparkling. Skilled jewelry artists have used their skill to create wings so realistic that these insects look like they can fly with their wings.
Edgar Bense for Boucheron Dragonfly Brooch, circa 1890
Dragonfly this magical and beautiful creature attracts the jewelry masters of the East and the West, and Ba Zhu Sister will take you to see these jewelry masterpieces from ancient times to the present:
The Dragonfly of the Western Jewelry Masters
First of all, the master jeweler of the Art Nouveau period, Alphonse Fouquet (1828-1911), one of the great jewelry designers of the Art Nouveau period, is considered the designer of this dragonfly brooch. The ornate details on the wings show the handicrafts of the master craftsman.
Works by Alphonse Fouquet
His son, Georges Fouquet, carried his brand forward, and he collaborated with Alphonse Mucha, a famous illustrator in Art Nouveau, who invited him to design jewelry for his brand, whose illustrations were almost the symbols of Art Nouveau, and the jewelry works they collaborated on became rare masterpieces.
Illustration by Alphonse Mucha
Georges Fouquet's brooch is triangular in shape, with an opal set in a hollow frame and three blue-green enamel dragonflies in the corners, embellished with three rose-cut diamonds.
Works by Georges Fouquet, circa 1900
Do you remember rene Lalique, the jeweler introduced earlier by Ba Zhujie? He also had a good relationship with Alphonse Mucha because they had the same patron, the opera goddess Sarah Bernhardt, and of course Rene Lalique loved the subject of dragonflies, and his famous masterpiece was a dragonfly brooch, "Dragonfly Woman".
Created around 1897-1898, dragonfly woman is considered one of Rene Lalique's most striking pieces of jewelry ever made. Now in the collection of the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, the brooch was a huge success at the 1900 Paris World's Fair. This "hybrid" dragonfly is both beautiful and a little weird, consisting of a huge golden enamel dragonfly and a female bust: dragonflies with articulated open wings made of extremely delicate milky white enamel, diamonds and moonstones. The female bust is made of chalcedony and wears a helmet decorated with two lacquered gold beetles on her head.
In December 2020, this Rene Lalique "Four Dragonfly" gold brooch became a star at the Paris auction for $271,630, created around 1900. This brooch uses Rene Lalique's signature technique, the famous plique-a-jour translucent enamel, which is known for creating the effects of insects with rainbow-like wings. In the middle of the brooch is a huge pillow-cut aquamarine.
Rene Lalique "Four Dragonflies" gold brooch
Rene Lalique also designed a piece of dual-purpose jewelry – a brown enamel dragonfly necklace, a hairbrush, and dragonflies with golden enamel wings flying around a lemon-colored teardrop-shaped "light source". This necklace features a comb accessory that can be worn off as a hairbrush with the pendant off.
In the United States, there is also a jewelry master who loves dragonflies, he is the second generation of the Tiffany family Comfort Tiffany, he is also the first design director of the Tiffany brand. Comfort Tiffany started out as a painter, but later developed a keen interest in stained glass and became famous in art circles for his stained glass creations, renovating the White House with stained glass products and creating a series of stained glass table lamps. In 1889, he traveled to France for the Paris Exposition, where he became acquainted with the artist Alphonse Mucha and was influenced by the French Art Nouveau movement.
Comfort Tiffany designed a dragonfly-themed table lamp
In 1902, Comfort Tiffany became Tiffany's design director and began to focus on jewelry, and this small and delicate dragonfly brooch is one of his creations, with a blue enamel body studded with black opal and garnet, and slender wings made of platinum.
Comfort Tiffany's jewelry masterpiece is probably the hairbrush made circa 1904 in the Metropolitan Museum's collection: capturing the brief moment when two dragonflies landed on a dandelion seed ball. As if the dandelion had just been blown away by the wind, two dragonflies fell lightly on it, and the black opal inlaid on the back and the pink opal embedded in the head perfectly depicted the magical rainbow colors that nature gave to the dragonfly. Their delicate, tulle-like wire wings are made of iridium and platinum alloys, and the wings flutter slightly when the wearer turns his head.
Not only did the art nouveau jeweler fall in love with the dragonfly, but there are also many modern jewelers who favor the subject, such as the mysterious and low-key JAR, who also designed the dragonfly theme, and in 1996 he created this colorful dragonfly composed of jade, sapphire, opal, tourmaline, garnet and diamond.
Lydia Courteille, the Parisian jewelry designer is the jewelry designer praised by "Lafayette" Karl Lagerfeld, her design is famous in the Gothic style, but the "dragonfly" earrings she designed look very youthful and beautiful, and there is no legendary "dark style", Oversized design, very fashionable ~
Lydia Courteille creates her dragonfly in a completely different modern style, with wings hand-painted with enamel that reflect the spectacular color-changing iridescence of nature, the body made of green tsavorite mixed with sapphires, and the eyes made of emerald. There is also a more colorful one in the same collection, made of diamonds, enamel, sapphires, amethyst, green garnet, tourmaline and tanzanite.
The "Dragonfly" poem of the Oriental Jewelry Master
The works of oriental jewelers have always been more poetic and charming, especially on the spiritual and Zen theme of dragonflies, and they have invariably captured the most agile side of dragonflies.
Wallace Chan, the jeweler friend should be familiar with, his gorgeous style and unique oriental aesthetic are unforgettable. His dragonfly works are naturally rare works of art, capturing the lifelike side of dragonflies and using gemstones to make them more gorgeous and sparkling.
Wallace Chan depicts the dragonfly in jewelry, and it is said that he will recreate the precise structure of its interior through real insects, he once shared in an interview, he wrapped the insect's wings between layers of carved crystals and mother-of-pearl in a brooch, so that everyone can see the color and natural texture of the wings through transparent gemstones.
Cindy Chao, another jewelry design master that everyone is familiar with, also favors the "dragonfly", but she is more inclined to capture the charm and dynamics of the dragonfly, and express it in a more abstract way, using a variety of gemstones to create a series of dragonflies with different looks and postures, with a sense of sculpture condensation, and showing its light posture in flight, as if using gemstones to freeze the vitality of natural creatures in an instant.
Compared with other jewelers, her dragonfly is more of a representation than a depiction of appearance, so she can set precious stones more freely and show her color matching aesthetic, so her dragonfly jewelry has more self-expression.
Another jewelry designer, Anna Hu, is no slouch in her dragonfly jewelry, with her dragonfly brooches made up of opal, sapphire, garnet and Paraíba tourmaline, and the entire gem hue is full of fantasy, adding a whimsical touch to the work and revealing a surreal style.
Jewelry big names love it, which dragonfly jewelry is stronger?
See here do you think dragonfly jewelry is indeed worth having, but this is all the work of jewelry masters, not in the museum you have to go to the auction house to try your luck, can only look at the distance can not have ah ~ but in fact, the jewelry big names also like this "theme", you can find this natural creature with a beautiful meaning in Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany, Boucheron and Graf.
Cartier - the most powerful dragonfly
Cartier's dragonflies are more powerful, with clean lines and three-dimensional shapes, bold color schemes from the 1950s, and in modern times, dragonflies have completely evolved into design patterns and become an integral part of jewelry.
Cartier dragonfly brooch in the 1950s
Cartier Dragonfly themed watch
Cartier dragonfly themed necklace pendant
Tiffany - the dragonfly that inherits the classics
Because of Comfort Tiffany's love of dragonflies, Tiffany has always been able to find dragonfly jewelry, which has become one of the DNA symbols of the brand's culture. From the beginning of the last century to the present, dragonfly jewelry has also evolved within the brand, such as Paulding Farnham, who designed the orchid brooch, and also designed the brooch for the brand with the theme of dragonfly, which is set in gold and white gold by diamonds and sapphires, which are more dazzling and gorgeous.
On the occasion of the brand's 175th anniversary, Tiffany also launched the Tiffany Enchant® collection, paying tribute to the classic elements with a new design, including the dragonfly brooch, but this time the dragonfly brooch is a small and cute MIni version, which is more stylish.
Graf - the most brilliant dragonfly
The Graff-designed Dragonfly brooch is set in 70.60 carats of yellow and white diamonds, and the entire piece is dazzling, fully demonstrating the vibrant side of the Dragonfly, and of course, the brand's love of diamonds and exquisite craftsmanship.
Van Cleef & Arpels – the most abstract dragonfly
In addition to Sotheby's upcoming haute couture dragonfly brooch, Van Cleef & Arpels has a more concise collection, a very abstract dragonfly image, focusing on two pairs of wings studded with various gems, see which one you like? Sapphires, diamonds and rubies, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, there is always one for you
Boucheron - the lightest dragonfly
Boucheron has always been inspired by animals, and each of their animal jewelry designs captures their cutest side, so the dragonfly jewelry they design also captures the qualities of dragonflies – lightness and elegance. Boucheron also chose to create a wide range of jewelry, designing crowns during the Art Nouveau movement, while in modern times they have created dragonfly necklaces from gold, diamonds and rubies.
Boucheron dragonfly crown at the beginning of the last century
Boucheron dragonfly necklace
How, after seeing so many masterpieces of the master, have you been impressed by this elegant and agile elf? Whether it is a masterpiece or a big-name boutique, it shows the unique charm of "Dragonfly", and Ba Zhujie decided that the next piece of jewelry in the collection will aim at it
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