Art Modern Aquamarine, Diamond and Coral Necklace by Jean Fouquet, Paris, circa 1935

provenance

Michael Périnet 

literature

Mouillefarine, Laurence, and Évelyne Possémé, eds., Art Deco Jewelry: Modernist Masterworks and their Makers. London: Thames & Hudson, Ltd., 2009, pp, 154–5.

exhibitions

Bijoux Art Deco et Avant-Garde: Jean Després et les Bijoutiers Modernes, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, March 18–July 12, 2009

Biography

Maison Fouquet was founded in Paris in 1862 by Alphonse Fouquet, who exhibited jewelry inspired by sphinxes and chimeras at the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris. In 1895, he was succeeded by his son, Georges, a designer and shrewd businessman respected among his peers and a commander of the Légion d’Honneur. At the turn of the century, graphic designer Alphonse Mucha created imaginative jewels for the company. Jean Fouquet joined the family firm in 1920, designing avant-garde jewelry based on rectilinear precepts. In the 1930s, Jean began working on commissions for private clients under his own name and continued to make jewelry after the firm closed in February 1936.

Significance

Jean Fouquet’s audacious and innovative designs in the 1920s and 1930s broke with the perception of jewelry as delicate. He was inspired by the ability of jewelry to make an impact. He said, “A piece of jewelry must be composed of masses clearly visible from a distance.” He explained, “Objects glimpsed at top speed become distorted and we can only perceive them by their volume . . . Today we have become accustomed to reading quickly.” 

This necklace leaves a striking impression upon the viewer and is an exceptional example of abstract sculpture easily read at a distance. A ring of coral segments creates an unexpected pop of color and suspends a series of perfectly matched emerald-cut aquamarines. (The luminous blue stone is notoriously difficult to match well enough to complete a necklace and jewelers would collect material for years.) Chevron-shaped plaques space the stones, with one side set with diamonds and the other a high polished platinum surface. The plaques are peaked in the middle, like a roof and juxtapose the flat surface of the aquamarines with a sharp angle. The overall composition is a balance of geometry and color that combines to create an exceptional and highly wearable work of art. 

While Jean made this necklace under his own name, he had worked closely with his father in the decade preceding the design, and Georges carefully considered the craft of the artist. He said, “The jewels most likely to endure are not ostentatious displays, but those in which the metal is associated with raw materials of a financial value less than their beauty, like aquamarine, amethyst, topaz, or tourmaline. Art, which never ages, will prolong the career of these jewels. It will endow them with their true character. They will never be disassembled so that the materials can be used in a different form. They are, first of all, works of art rather than financial investments.” Created by a master jeweler, this important necklace is one of the most important works of Art Deco design and would be the centerpiece of any collection.