Sotheby’s Hong Kong said, join us as we celebrate the New Year with our first jewellery auction on 31 January. It’s the perfect opportunity just before Valentine’s Day, with the optimism of spring on the horizon. The curation brings together the warmth and vibrancy of the season with designs from both emerging and established jewellery houses. The exhibition for this auction will be on view at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery from 25-27, and 29-30 January.
Focussing here on, Mother Nature: Art and Jewellery’s Original Muse; A story of wonderous jewels inspired by the naturalistic world. Nature has always been the original muse. From scrawled caveman sketches of wildlife in the caves of Lascaux to Claude Monet’s painterly lens on rolling hills and water lilies, art’s love affair with nature is no new surprise. And jewellery is but one of many disciplines in art that reflects this sentiment, with an enduring connection that transcends culture and time.
Ancient civilisations, such as the Egyptians, adorned themselves with floral jewellery as part of a tradition to celebrate the fertility of the Nile during The Beautiful Festival of Opet. However, it was in the 18th and 19th centuries that naturalistic motifs flourished and took centre stage on a more global scale. In the West, brooches featured intricate sprays of flowers, vines, and tendrils, crafted from diverse materials such as gemstones, gold, coral, and enamel, embodying art that imitated life. French jewellery house Boucheron also took inspiration from Egypt, incorporating the likes of winged scarabs and other iconic Egyptian symbols into their creations.
The Victorian era took these naturalistic motifs to a deeper, more symbolic level, introducing sentiment-laden designs where flowers conveyed messages of fidelity, enduring memory, and love. This era saw British jewellers drawing inspiration from indigenous flora, creating exquisitely feminine jewellery that encapsulated the beauty of nature. Concurrently, Chinese jewellers showcased their virtuosity in working with floral motifs, deriving inspiration from peonies, water lilies, roses, and more to craft jewellery that embodied the grace of the natural world.