Mauboussin Hummingbrid Brooch, 1960, Enamel, Ruby, Diamonds And 18k Gold

MAUBOUSSIN
HUMMINGBRID BROOCH
18k yellow gold. Its body is elegantly enameled, while its eye is bezel-set with a navette ruby surrounded by three round diamonds. The outstretched wings feature a design of finely chiseled feathers in vibrant colors (green, blue, and yellow) against a backdrop of enamel.
Circa 1960.
Signed "MAUBOUSSIN PARIS" and numbered. Maker's mark.

Dimensions : 5.8 x 5 cm approx.
Weight : 20.0 g (18k – 750 – eagle heads).

CONDITION :
The brooch is in good condition. A slight imperfection is noted in the enamel at the end of the second feather of the wing.

History and Style
This brooch is typical of the 60s and of Maison Mauboussin, both in its subject and in its treatment. It is in line with the realistic animalist approach of the great jewelers of Place Vendôme which developed from the 1940s. The hummingbird is treated here with great realism. We see it with its wings spread, its feathers decomposed and finely chiselled. It is represented in its famous hovering phase. The treatment of its coat with enamel allows it to do justice to its vibrant colors.
Throughout the 20th century, Mauboussin was a House comparable to the biggest names in French jewelry. From the 1940s until the end of the 1960s, “Birds of Paradise” brooches multiplied on Place Vendôme. Cartier, Van Cleef, Marchak, Pierre Sterlé and Mauboussin, all strive to represent these birds that fly, that walk, that are perched or posed. They inspire each other, influence each other. Thus the treatment of the feathers of our bird is reminiscent of the feathers of the 1965 Clip Couroucou from Maison Van Cleef. The bird, through its colors, its positions, its liveliness, its exoticism, inspires great jewelers. He is a messenger, a free soul carrying strong symbolism. Mauboussin with Marchak and Pierre Sterlé, particularly excelled in the representation of this animal.
Bibliography: Bird Paradise of the Ecole des Arts Joailliers, Paris, 2019.