On 19 May 2021, PIASA is offering a Jewellery and Watches auction with 118 lots featuring great names in jewellery, including two gold creations by Haroldo Burle Marx.
The Burle Marx brothers single handedly showcase Brazilian modernity. Born to a Jewish-German family exiled at the end of the 19th century, all three brothers were creative: Walter became a composer and conductor for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro; Roberto, a well known landscaper, urban planner, painter and botanist (responsible for designing the Copacabana waterfront); Haroldo boldly embraced the art of jewelry.
Haroldo studied lapidary art and gemmology in Germany, and began producing his own creations in the late 1940s. In 1954, he opened a shop in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. Intimately linked to his brother Roberto Burle Marx’s oeuvre, Haroldo engaged with the notion of movement in art and created freeform compositions, evoking organic and architectural shapes; however, contrary to his brother’s polymathic endeavours, Haroldo focused exclusively on jewelry design. Reflecting his interest for gems and their materiality, his creations are adorned with precious or semi-precious stones, always astutely selected, mounted on gold, and often treated in matte or satin textures in order to create patterns. The bracelet we are offering for auction is therefore a perfect example of Haroldo’s study of materiality. The gold craftsmanship and the movement created by the emerald-adorned pattern generate a landscape-like horizon.
Their differences did not keep the brothers from joining forces. The stones used by Haroldo take up undulating shapes, often conceived by his brother, in a freeform manner called ‘Forma Livra’. Thus, the necklace we offer is enriched with a freeform aquamarine most likely designed by Roberto.
Haroldo BURLE MARX (1911-1991)
Années 1970
Estimate : 4 000 / 6 000 €
The jewels’ construction is consistently flawless and balanced. They are easily wearable while remaining recognizable and emblematic of 1960s/1970s Brazil. In fact, Haroldo is considered an ambassador of Brazilian creation and his works are often chosen as diplomatic gifts. His jewels are found in the most important international collections: Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II of England, Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi, Carrol Petrie or designer Valentino.
Over the last ten years of his career, Haroldo Burle Marx essentially worked in the United States, offering a very different style, often in silver or paved with diamonds, echoing the taste of the Washington D.C. Watergate Hotel’s clientele such as Sammy Davis Jr or Oscar de la Renta.
Haroldo BURLE MARX (1911-1991)
1970's
Estimate : 5 000 / 7 000 €
