Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848 – 1933), or LCT as he is often referred, spent his early years developing numerous artistic skills influenced by his world travels, eventually bringing these foreign techniques and influences back home to New York. By the time he followed his father, Charles Tiffany, founder of Tiffany & Co., at the family business, LCT was regarded as a skilled glassworker, metalworker, woodworker, painter, potter, and jeweler. Named as Tiffany & Co.’s first design director in 1902, LCT’s breadth of work and worldly influences quickly defined societal fashions amongst America’s elite as collectors began filling their jewelry cases and decorating their homes with Tiffany & Co. creations.
Among LCT’s global influences was a lifelong appreciation for ancient Egyptian arts, especially with regards to their invention of glassmaking. LCT’s interest in Egyptian cultural heritage culminated in the ‘Egyptian Fête’ costume party and exhibition held on 4 February 1913 to celebrate his 65th birthday. Large collections of Egyptian Revival jewels were created at LCT’s behest in the years before and after his fête, often using Favrile glass scarabs, lapis lazuli, turquoise, gold and enamel in designs reminiscent of the color palettes and motifs observed in Egyptian archaeological findings. LCT’s Egyptian Revival jewels stayed en vogue for a considerable time after their creation in the mid-1910s, especially given the ‘Egyptomania’ that followed the 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb.
The present necklace was a gift to Helen Safford Knowles (1885 – 1969), celebrating her marriage to Henry Houston Bonnell (1860 – 1926) on 17 June 1915, the wedding date and the bride’s maiden initials engraved at reverse. This necklace exemplifies the Egyptian Revival designs favored by LCT with its use of lapis lazuli plaques, delicate enamel work and soft gold mounting.
Prominent figures amongst Philadelphia’s literary circles, the Bonnells are best remembered for their expansive private library with an emphasis on the works of the Brontë sisters. Mr. Bonnell made a name for himself as a literary agent for Dodd, Mead & Co. publishers before retiring to commit himself to public service, including a position on the Board of Managers for the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, his alma mater. Large distributions from their private library were made following Mr. Bonnell’s death to the University of Pennsylvania, the Morgan Library, and the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, England.
An equally passionate literary scholar, Mrs. Bonnell was an engaged alumna of Wellsley College and served as a trustee and president of the Alumnae Association, fondly remembering her time in the Shakespeare Club and the never-ending pursuit of knowledge that followed her graduation. Throughout her life, Mrs. Bonnell dedicated time to clubs and organizations supporting Philadelphia’s cultural enrichment including the Art Alliance, the Acorn Club, and the Peale Club, amongst others. Befitting a woman with such intellectual and cultural interests, LCT’s Egyptian Revival designs would have made a fine addition to Mrs. Bonnell’s jewelry collection. Staying within the Bonnell family for over a century, Christie’s is pleased to offer at auction for the first time this fine Louis Comfort Tiffany necklace.