ELIZABETYH TAYLOR & EGYPTIAN REVIVAL JEWELRY

Dame Elizabeth Taylor became America’s Cleopatra in a the 1963 blockbuster movie of the same name, ‘Cleopatra’.

Richard Burton wanted to buy something very special for his wife and ‘Queen Cleopatra,’ a very special jewel, fitting a

Queen. But this was the early 1960’s, and the jewelry being made at the time was uninspired for a very seasoned

jewelry buyer with a an exquisite eye. So, Richard Burton, went to Harry Winston and together they had to go back in

a few decades in time, to the 1920’s and 1930’s when the jewelry arts peaked, to find the perfect jewel for his modern

day Cleopatra.

The jewel he chose was the ‘King Farouk Bracelet’ the Egyptian Revival bracelet made in 1925 by Van Cleef &

Arples in Paris.

Harry Winston had purchased a collection of jewels from Queen Nazli of Egypt, which included the ‘King Farouk Bracelet’.

I am sure Richard Burton was thinking that the ‘King Farouk Bracelet’ which was made for the very last Queen of the Nile, Queen Nazli would be the perfect gift for his ‘Cleopatra’.

Queen Nazli, at the time of her death had one of the greatest collections of jewels in the world, but that is another story…

Gem-set Egyptian-style pieces were also produced by other Parisian jewelers including Cartier and Lacoche Freres, etc.

Van Cleef & Arples set tiny Egyptian figures in colored stones into a diamond ground.

They are not in any way historically accurate.

What distinguishes Cartier jewels is their close reliance on the major sources books for Egyptian art.

Cartier’s 1910 catalogue comprises of gem-set objects whose design is based on Egyptian motifs such as the lotus and pylon.

After the discovery of Tutankhamun in 1922, and continued into the 1930s, consist of highly original objects

incorporating actual Egyptian antiquities such as blue-glazed faience scarabs or other amulets.

Jewelry influenced by the art of Ancient Egypt was at the height of fashion in the 1920’s. The discovery of                                                                                      

Tutankhamen’s tomb by Howard Carter and Lord Camarvon in 1922 inspired jewelers. These exceptional jewels are

decorated with scenes of offerings and hieroglyphic motifs depicting scarabs, amphorae, bulls, ostrich feathers, lotus

flowers and bees, all of which reference Ancient Egyptian iconography. They are set with precious buff-top emeralds,                                       

sapphires, rubies, pave diamonds, and calibrated onyx stones.

The first wave of Egyptian Revival came at the very beginning of the very late 18^th century with Admiral Nelson’s

defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, together with the discovery of the Rosetta stone. Later with the

opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 sparked another round of Egyptian Revival.

In 1922 Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, which created a huge sensation through the world and inspired almost every art form from jewelry to architecture.

The last wave of  Egyptian revival came in the mid 1970s when Tutankhamun’s treasures finally came to the United States.

If you have any Egyptian Revival jewelry, we can appraise its value. If you want Egyptian Revival jewelry, we can procure it for you. If you want to sell any Egyptian Revival jewelry, we can help you sell it for the very best price.