130 - GEORGES BRAQUE: "PHAETON" RUBY BROOCH, CIRCA 1960

GEORGES BRAQUE: "PHAETON" RUBY BROOCH, CIRCA 1960 Shaped like a stylized bird in textured yellow gold, with its eye set with a round ruby, signed BIJOUX DE BRAQUE HEGER DE LÖWENFELD ©, numbered, French hallmarks for 18-karat gold (750 ‰), master’s mark for Jean BONDT, dimensions 5.70 x 9.30 cm, gross weight 28.39 g. GEORGES BRAQUE: RUBY 'PHAETON' BROOCH, CIRCA 1960 Designed as a stylized bird in textured yellow gold, with the eye set with a round ruby, signed BIJOUX DE BRAQUE HEGER DE LÖWENFELD ©, numbered, French hallmarks for 18-karat gold, maker’s mark for Jean BONDT, dimensions 5.70 x 9.30 cm, gross weight 28.39 grams. Footnotes: Georges Braque, a major figure in modern art and co-founder of Cubism alongside Picasso, left a profound mark on the 20th century through his quest for form, material, and harmony. From the very beginning of his career, Braque experimented with new techniques and worked with various materials—sand, wood, engraved copper—developing a visual language based on clean lines and geometric structure. In 1961, Braque teamed up with jeweler and gem cutter Henri-Michel Heger de Löwenfeld to create a series of jewelry pieces inspired by his artistic universe and Greek mythology. This collaboration gave rise to pieces where clean forms, timeless symbols, and noble materials come together. The Bird in Braque’s Work: Beginning in the 1950s, the bird became one of the most powerful motifs in his work. Inspired by the shifting skies of Normandy, in Varengeville-sur-Mer, Braque saw the bird as a symbol of infinite space and free movement—a way to express the poetry of the world and creative energy. This theme reached its peak in 1953, when he painted a flock of birds taking flight against a starry sky on the ceiling of the Henri II Room at the Louvre. The bird also features prominently in his illustrations of Hesiod beginning in 1912, revealing the full symbolic richness he attributed to this aerial figure. Georges Braque, a major figure in modern art and co-founder of Cubism alongside Picasso, left a lasting mark on the 20th century through his exploration of form, material, and harmony. From the very beginning of his career, Braque experimented with new techniques and materials—sand, wood, engraved copper—and developed a visual language rooted in clean lines and geometric structure. In 1961, Braque partnered with jeweler and lapidary Henri-Michel Heger de Löwenfeld to create a series of jewels inspired by his artistic universe and Greek mythology. This exceptional collaboration brought to life pieces where pure forms, timeless symbols, and noble materials come together in perfect balance. The Bird in Braque’s Work From the 1950s onward, the bird emerged as one of the most powerful symbols in Braque’s body of work. Inspired by the ever-changing skies of Varengeville-sur-Mer in Normandy, where he lived, the bird embodied for him the idea of infinite space and free movement—a poetic expression of the world and the creative impulse. This theme reached its peak in 1953, when Braque painted a starry sky filled with birds in flight on the ceiling of the Henri II Room at the Louvre. The bird also appears in his illustrations for Hesiod as early as 1912, revealing the rich symbolic significance he attributed to this ethereal figure. For further information on this lot, please visit Bonhams.com