Victorian gold, enamel and gem-set bracelet with a provenance to Sir Charles James Napier (1782-1853) estimated at £3000-5000 at Noonans.
The sale of Jewellery, Watches, and Objects of Vertu at Noonans on September 12 includes a 19th century gold, enamel and gem-set bracelet with a provenance to a colonial soldier.
The bracelet was formerly the property of Sir Charles James Napier (1782-1853), British general and commander-in-chief in India, famous for conquering the Sindh province of British India (now in present-day Pakistan).
Sir Charles James Napier (1782-1853).
The vendor of this bracelet is of direct descent and it is estimated at £3000-5000 by the Mayfair, London, auction house. According to the note of provenance attached to the underside of the fitted case, Napier gave the bracelet to ‘Grandmama Aberdare’. She is better known as Lady Nora Creina Blanche Bruce (1827-97), second wife of the 1st Baron Aberdare (1815-95), who was home secretary under Gladstone.
Victorian gold, enamel and gem-set bracelet in its box with a provenance to Sir Charles James Napier (1782-1853) estimated at £3000-5000 at Noonans.
Eternally yours
A later but equally impressive articulated snake necklace by Stoess comes for sale at Catherine Southon’s auction at the Farleigh Gold Club in Surrey on September 13. It is thought that the owner’s greataunt and uncle, both pharmacists in Wuppertal, commissioned this representation of eternal love from Stoess in the 1960s.
Sapphire-set snake necklace by Stoess, estimate £30,000-40,000 at Catherine Southon.
Wolfgang Alexander Stoess, the firm’s current managing director, has confirmed that this necklace was made in its atelier in the 1960s at the time when Bulgari’s Serpenti jewellery, first introduced in the late 1940s, was all the rage.
The main attraction of the piece is the large cushion-cut sapphire set to the head. Estimated to weigh 12.6ct, it is accompanied by a report from the Gemmological Certification Services stating that the sapphire of a ‘moderately strong violetish blue colour’ originates from Ceylon and has no indication of heat treatment. Estimate £30,000-40,000
