its body set with cabochon sapphires, with brilliant cut diamonds in gold collets, the eyes denoted by two cabochon emeralds.
Provenance
See no. 244 (pg 224) of ‘From Function to Fantasy, The Brooch: From 1200 BCE to the contemporary.’
Manhattan-born Seaman Schepps (1881-1972) opened his first business in Los Angeles in 1904 selling antiques and jewellery but returned to New York in 1921 where he established himself closeto the Algonquin Hotel on Sixth Avenue. After the stock market crash of 1929, he relaunched himself on Madison Avenue during the 1930s and began to design his own pieces, greatly influenced by the creations of Suzanne Belperron and Fulco di Verdura he had seen in Paris. Eclectic colour combinations and amusing motifs distinguished Schepp’s jewellery, which often featured sea creatures, shells and reptiles; he attracted a broad clientele ranging from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Andy Warhol. Schepp’s predilection for cabochon gemstones, randomly arranged on a surface, is demonstrated in this oversized brooch.