89 - Falko Marx

Falko Marx A German 18k yellow gold iron sheet diamond and coloured gemstone brooch depicting an exotic moonlit night. Unique piece. Gold-mounted plaque made of dark sheet iron in an irregular disc shape, richly decorated with applied figural relief ornament in gold and lavishly set with coloured gemstones in various cuts (Ceylon sapphire cabochon, approx. 9.22 ct, approx. 11.28 × 11.26 × 6.82 mm; star ruby, emerald, sapphire, moonstone, chrysoberyl, ruby cabochon, rubellite cabochon, faceted garnet, tourmalines, peridots and opals). Engraved: Fineness 750, “FM79”, “Falko Köln”. 5.8 × 6.4 cm. Weight 59.36 g. Original case. Falko Marx, Cologne, 1979. This oriental-inspired, vibrantly coloured brooch is a masterpiece of the goldsmith’s craft and imaginative artistry of this versatile goldsmith. His miniature wearable assemblages, in which he nonchalantly combined worthless objets trouvés, precious metals and precious coloured gemstones, express his highly individual interpretation of Arte Povera. Here, he uses a black iron plate, a found object from a beach in Morocco, as a night sky adorned with the moon and stars, staging an exotic landscape before it featuring a palm tree, a seated lion, a mouse and small songbirds, together with the symbolic motif of a fanfare. Literature Cf. Falko Marx – Ein Künstler zwischen den Zeiten und zwischen den Stilen, Cologne, 2009, pp. 72, 96.