BALLERINA
A DIAMOND, RUBY AND EMERALD "BALLERINA" BROOCH, BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS

Details
A DIAMOND, RUBY AND EMERALD "BALLERINA" BROOCH, BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
Depicting Maria Camargo, posed in an arabesque, set with an inverted pear-shaped diamond face and circular-cut diamond bodice, extending a rose-cut diamond full-skirted tutu, her headband and costume decorated with circular-cut rubies and emeralds, mounted in platinum, 1942
Signed Van Cleef & Arpels, N.Y., no. 2475
Further Details
A miniature rendition of Nicolas Lancret's eighteenth-century painting La Camargo Dancing, this brooch was designed by Maurice Duvalet for Van Cleef & Arpels in 1942, and was manufactured by John Rubel Co.

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Lisa Weston
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Lot Essay

Maria Camargo's Paris Opéra debut occurred in 1726 in Les Caractères de la danse. Her career blossomed quickly into stardom; on one occasion, she received high praise for a spectacular impromptu solo when another dancer failed to enter on cue. Widely admired for her style, Camargo set the trends in shoes, hairstyles and clothing. Most notably, she was the first ballerina to shorten her skirt enough to permit intricate footwork, and her fitted underpinnings inspired the creation of modern-day tights.

Cf. Penny Proddow and Debra Healy, American Jewelry: Glamour and Tradition, Rizzoli, New York, 1987, pages 146-147

Cf. Sylvie Raulet, Jewelry of the 1940s and 1950s, Editions du Regard, Paris, 1987, page 57

Cf. Sylvie Raulet, Van Cleef & Arpels, Editions du Regard, Paris, 1986, and Rizzoli, New York, 1987, page 219

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