Summer at Bellmans | Exceptional Jewellery by Anton Frühauf
Bellmans is to sell a unique necklace with a pendant depicting The Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve, a bird of paradise in a tree, a serpent and a diamond set sun. The silver gilt and diamond set rectangular pendant (11.4cm by 9cm) with a diamond set baton link neckchain by Anton Frühauf, a distinguished jeweller from Meran, Italy, is expected to sell for £8,000 - £10,000 in the jewellery auction on Thursday, 1st July 2021.
The necklace was commissioned by Liesl Müller-Johnson (1922-2014), the daughter of a famous cabaret artiste, Rosl Berndt. Leisl spent her early years in Vienna and Bucharest, making a few stage appearances and at the age of 80 she followed her early childhood wish to be on the stage, performing the songs of the Golden Era of European Cabaret in theatres in Rome, Vienna and England. A keen patron of the arts, her flamboyant character drew her to creative and original artists and she commissioned a number of distinctive items of jewellery from Frühauf and other designer jewellers.
Anton Frühauf (1914 - 1999) was a famously eccentric jewellery designer, painter and caricaturist based in Meran where he ran the third generation jewellery shop which could count royal families and celebrities among their customers. He made a name for himself beyond Northern Italy as one of the trailblazers of modern European jewellery design. From the early 1950s he challenged the traditional jewellery designs of the time and received many awards for his work in Europe. A keen observer, he recreated works inspired by nature and historic works, using unusual materials like wood and plastic in combination with gold, silver and precious stones. His creations often raised the question, if they were jewellery or art. The Garden of Eden is a prime example of his design ethos.
The auction also includes two rings, designed by Frühauf - a gold, aquamarine and diamond set ring estimated at £4,000 - £5,000, while a ring of a more abstract design, mounted with an emerald cut diamond and various circular cut diamonds, carries an estimate of £1,800 - £2,200.
