Dress ornament, ca. 1923
Georges Fouquet (French, 1862–1957)
Jade, onyx, diamonds, enamel, platinum

H. 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm), W. 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
Gift of Eva and Michael Chow, 2001 (2001.723)

@credits

In 1895, Georges Fouquet took over the Paris jewelry firm—at the time known for its wide range of historicist styles—established by his father in 1860. Reinvigorating it with a decidedly modern spirit, he continued to supply his fashionable clientele with exquisite jewels in the latest styles until the late 1930s.

This dress ornament typifies theatrical taste of the mid-1920s for the exoticism of the Far East. Its unexpected combination of colors and juxtaposition of materials—which include Asian jade—are appropriately matched to the motif of a Chinese mask. The extraordinarily large scale of the jewel suggests that it was intended to be a tour-de-force exhibition piece; its weight would easily have torn or compromised the drape of a delicate dress fabric.