BIRMINGHAM, U.K. – A fob featuring a carnelian carved by British artisan William Brown in the late 18th century and found in a large bag of jewelry will likely sell for more than £1,000 at Fellows on Thursday, April 13. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
The Fellows team found a bit of treasure while sorting out a collection of jewelry that had been consigned to auction. Jewelry specialist Ben Randall said about finding the piece, “It actually came to us in an interesting manner. We discovered it when searching through a huge bag of miscellaneous jewelry. We spotted a hint of red and immediately recognized it as an item of historical importance.”
Carved by William Brown in the 1790s, the carnelian depicts an image from classical mythology. It shows Hebe feeding her father Zeus while in the guise of an eagle. It is set into a fob, which would have been worn by a gentleman on the end of a chain, normally as a counterweight to a pocket watch.
William Brown (1748-1825) was a gem and seal engraver known for cameos and intaglios with classical scenes and exhibited his work at both the Society of Artists and the Royal Academy. Brown worked alongside his brother Charles until his brother’s death in 1795. From then on, Brown worked almost exclusively on commissions from Catherine II of Russia. The empress employed his skills for more than 10 years and filled her cabinets with stones carved by Brown. At one point, her collection exceeded 400. Catherine was such a fan of carved stones that in 1783 she ordered a set of reproductions from a Scottish modeler and engraver, James Tassie, who made up extensive collections for his patrons. No. 1307 from the Tassie collection bears a very similar resemblance to the item in the auction.
The carved carnelian fob will be lot 701 in Fellows’ Fine Jewellery auction on April 13. It carries an estimate of £1,000-£1,500.
Randall added, “Intaglios tend to belong to an intelligentsia of collectors, with unusual subjects rarely seen outside of outstanding private collections or museum showcases. That makes seeing this carving all the more exciting. Sculpted by an Englishman no less, this Georgian masterpiece has brothers and sisters among royalty across Europe and is one of a handful of intaglios of superb quality in this auction. I cannot wait to see it continue its journey to a welcoming home.”
[av_button label=’Click to view the auction catalog and sign up to bid’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ link=’manually,https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/283681_fine-jewellery-free-shipping/?keyword=&page=1′ link_target=’_blank’ size=’small’ position=’center’ label_display=” title_attr=” size-text=” av-desktop-font-size-text=” av-medium-font-size-text=” av-small-font-size-text=” av-mini-font-size-text=” margin=” margin_sync=’true’ padding=” padding_sync=’true’ av-desktop-margin=” av-desktop-margin_sync=’true’ av-desktop-padding=” av-desktop-padding_sync=’true’ av-medium-margin=” av-medium-margin_sync=’true’ av-medium-padding=” av-medium-padding_sync=’true’ av-small-margin=” av-small-margin_sync=’true’ av-small-padding=” av-small-padding_sync=’true’ av-mini-margin=” av-mini-margin_sync=’true’ av-mini-padding=” av-mini-padding_sync=’true’ color_options=” color=’theme-color’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ btn_color_bg=’theme-color’ btn_custom_grad_direction=’vertical’ btn_custom_grad_1=’#000000′ btn_custom_grad_2=’#ffffff’ btn_custom_grad_3=” btn_custom_grad_opacity=’0.7′ btn_custom_bg=’#444444′ btn_color_bg_hover=’theme-color-highlight’ btn_custom_bg_hover=’#444444′ btn_color_font=’theme-color’ btn_custom_font=’#ffffff’ btn_color_font_hover=’white’ btn_custom_font_hover=’#ffffff’ border=” border_width=” border_width_sync=’true’ border_color=” border_radius=” border_radius_sync=’true’ box_shadow=” box_shadow_style=’0px,0px,0px,0px’ box_shadow_color=” animation=” animation_duration=” animation_custom_bg_color=” animation_z_index_curtain=’100′ hover_opacity=” sonar_effect_effect=” sonar_effect_color=” sonar_effect_duration=’1′ sonar_effect_scale=” sonar_effect_opac=’0.5′ css_position=” css_position_location=’,,,’ css_position_z_index=” av-desktop-css_position=” av-desktop-css_position_location=’,,,’ av-desktop-css_position_z_index=” av-medium-css_position=” av-medium-css_position_location=’,,,’ av-medium-css_position_z_index=” av-small-css_position=” av-small-css_position_location=’,,,’ av-small-css_position_z_index=” av-mini-css_position=” av-mini-css_position_location=’,,,’ av-mini-css_position_z_index=” id=” custom_class=” template_class=” av_uid=’av-711br95′ sc_version=’1.0′ admin_preview_bg=”]
The current rate of exchange is £1 = $1.24.
Click to view top auction results on LiveAuctioneers: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/pages/recent-auction-sales/
