Spanish Bodice Ornament, ca. 1750
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GUEST:
That piece came to me through my aunt, who's passed away. She, I think, may have received it from her husband, who is Colombian. I don't know for a fact. She worked in the fashion industry on 7th Avenue and worked for many prominent designers, and she could have purchased it.
APPRAISER:
The piece is constructed from gold, and it's set throughout with emeralds. You've got the cruciform down here. What this is is a bodice ornament, and this would have been sewn just at the opening of the bodice. Based on the way this is constructed-- the setting of the stones, the stylized bow motif, and then this plaque up here, and then when I looked at the back, I could tell by the construction methods that this is definitely Spanish-- this dates about 1750, and it employs all the techniques that we are accustomed to seeing in pieces from this period. At auction, a piece like this would bring somewhere between $7,000 to $8,000.
GUEST:
Wow. That is amazing.
Appraisal Details
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