Joan Sonnabend Fine Jewelry Collection On Auction At Skinner

BOSTON, Mass – August 29, 2012 – Skinner, Inc. will host an auction of Fine Jewelry in its Boston gallery on September 11, 2012. The sale will feature over 700 lots of fine diamonds, natural pearls, colored stones, signed pieces, artist jewelry, and antique jewelry. The collections of New York gallery owner Joan Sonnabend and American sportswoman Hope Goddard Iselin are also on offer.

The Collection of Joan Sonnabend

The fall Fine Jewelry auction at Skinner features jewelry from the Estate of Joan Sonnabend, owner of the New York gallery Sculpture to Wear. This collection features jewelry by artists and sculptors including Max Ernst and Picasso, as well as notable jewelry designers such as David Webb, Schlumberger, Marilyn Cooperman, and the Boston Atelier Janiye.

Sonnabend opened her tiny gallery at the Plaza Hotel in New York in 1973 where she started with a 100-piece collection of "sculptures to wear." Although she offered jewelry in her collection, she was an art dealer, not a jeweler. Sonnabend's gallery at the Plaza was in part responsible for the exhibition and the creation of a market for artist jewelry. Artist pieces available at the auction include a 23kt gold pendant piece by Pablo Picasso titled Visage géométrique aux traits (lot 260, estimated between $7,000 and $9,000), a gold pendant by Max Ernst titled Groin (lot 261, $12,000 to $15,000), a 24kt and 18kt gold gem-set necklace by Miye Matsukata, Janiye (lot 263, $4,000 to $6,000), an 18kt gold knuckle ring by Robert Lee Morris (lot 299, $800 to $1,200), and a large copper and bronze cuff with a heart design by Claire Faulkenstein titled The Heart Advances My Pulse (lot 402, $300 to $500).

Fine jewelry highlights from Sonnabend’s collection on offer include 18kt gold and citrine earpendants by Marilyn Cooperman (lot 272, $2,500 to $3,500) and a platinum, 18kt gold, emerald, and diamond ring by David Webb (lot 373, $8,000 to $10,000). An antique 18kt gold, yellow sapphire and diamond pendant by Tiffany & Co. (lot 363, $18,000 to $22,000) will be featured set with a cushion-shaped yellow sapphire weighing approx. 16.00 cts., accompanied by an AGL report stating that the sapphire is classic Ceylon, with no heat enhancement.

As part of a special presentation accompanying the Sonnabend collection, Skinner Inc. will be hosting a lecture by jewelry artist Robert Lee Morris, “Remembering Joan Sonnabend.” The lecture will take place on Monday, September 10^th at 6:30 p.m. in the Boston gallery. Space is limited. RSVP online here: http://bit.ly/sonnabend-lecture

Morris came to know Sonnabend when her assistant wore one of Morris’s necklaces to work. When the piece attracted Sonnabend’s attention, she and her partner decided to give him exclusive representation in their gallery. Morris later ran his own gallery, ARTWEAR and has represented over 400 jewelry artists.