Bonhams London Jewels sale, scheduled for September 24, will see a historic jewellery piece hit the auction table: an Art Deco emerald, diamond and enamel brooch, circa 1925, which has been owned by a truly remarkable personage.
The brooch features Persian-engraved emerald, dated 1813-14, thought to be presented in the 19th century by the Mughal Emperor Akbar II to Mary Hood while she was traveling in India. Lady Mary Hood was a Victorian adventuress, literary muse and heiress of Francis Humberston Mackenzie, a British soldier, politician and botanist. Mary Hood is mainly known as the woman who inspired Sir Walter Scott’s famous poem “The Lady of the Lake”. Her brooch is being offered for sale for the first time.
The octagonal-cut Colombian emerald “sits within a frame of black enamel, brilliant and single-cut diamonds and mounted in platinum, which was thought to have been created around 1925 by the distinguished British society jeweller Hennell”, said Bonhams.
Bonhams London Jewels sale on September 24 will be filled with jewellery set with colored gemstones. In addition to the emerald brooch, other highlights include a Van Cleef & Arpels “mystery-set” bracelet set with 177 rubies, with a pre-sale estimate of $120,000-$180,00; a “mystery-set” ruby and diamond bombé ring, estimated at $24,000-$36,000; a sapphire and diamond three-stone ring, featuring an oval-cut sapphire, weighing 5.16 carats, set between brilliant-cut diamonds, estimated at $97,000-$150,000; and a sapphire and diamond three-stone ring, dated circa 1900, set with a cushion-shaped sapphire weighing 4.46 carats, itself set between cushion-shaped diamonds, with smaller old brilliant-cut diamond highlights. This ring has a pre-sale estimate of $120,000-$180,000.
