signed Renoir double leaf solid copper baked green enamel leaf brooch 4228

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signed Renoir double leaf solid copper baked green enamel leaf brooch 4228:
$35.00

Presented here another treasure from my personal copper collection that needs to be worn and admired instead of living in the darkconfires of a shoe box. Well behaved and trained this design is fashioned out of machine cut copper leaves and squared copper jeweler\'s wire. This particular pattern was very popular with an assortment of enamel finishes and colors. The larger leaf is coated with green baked enamel with white sprinkles on one half of the leaf while the smaller leaf is completely covered with enamel. The reverse reveals the expert soldering of the leaves to a base metal frame and the ends of the jeweler\'s wire stems A small copper vise holds the two stems together. The smaller leaf is fired bake enamel in variagated greens with white sprinkles to one side. It is attached to the wire stem that comes from the larger leaf. The larger leaf also has matching baked enamel but only to one side. The jeweler\'s wire is strategically soldered to the leaf going right down the center. The reverse reveals the fine craftsmanship from this designer with a c-clasp closure and pin assembly securely soldered to the tip of the larger leaf and to the back of the smaller leaf in an East-West orientation. On the back of the copper metal frame on back of the smaller leaf are the engraved or stamped words in block lettering MATISSE RENOIR with the copyright symbol engraved along side block lettering Matisse-Renoir with the copyright symbol. This fine example of copper jewelry is in immaculate pre-owned condition with barely a fingers as there are no visible signs of aging or wear. If you are a collector, this brooch is in the condition you seek with the metal high polished with a protective coating and the enamel has no cracks or crazing.

From Collector Weekly on-line (wwwdotcollectorsweeklydotcomforward slashcostume-jewelry/copper)

Among collectors of costume jewelry, copper is usually associated with Jerry Fels, who founded Renoir of California in 1946 and Matisse Ltd. in 1952. Renoir pieces took their inspiration from the Arts and Crafts era, when copper was a favorite of artisans producing hammered hollowware. Renoir was known for its solid copper cuffs, as well as its hinged bangles. Decorations on these pieces ranged from twisted strands of copper wire, mimicking the look of rope, to spring-like wire coils that were gently flattened and then polished to produce rows of what appeared to be semi-circular loops.

In fact, playing with geometry was a favorite preoccupation of Renoir designers. The company’s “swiss cheese” bangles came in several styles, some featuring a wide ribbon of copper that had been punctured by holes, others flipping this effect so that the holes stood paradoxically in relief on their copper base. Squares and rectangles, chunky arrows and angle-shapes, and balls of various size were also incorporated in Renoir pieces, as were leaf shapes and other floral motifs.

One of Renoir’s most recognizable designs is the brooch-and-earrings demi-parure based on an artist’s palette, complete with brushes in the thumb hole. This same design would be updated by Matisse, with enameling on the surface of the palette to differentiate it from the copper brushes. Matisse palettes came in shades of red, orange, green, and blue.

Like the palettes, Matisse’s maple leaf demi-parures were anchored by a uniform copper outline—in this case, a leaf with a stem that ends in a hypnotizing spiral—with different enamel treatments on top. Of these, the ones that paired gold, blue, or red with black, plus accents of copper berries sitting in relief on the surface of the leaves, are especially memorable.

Although copper jewelry is generally considered costume or fashion jewelry because copper is a base metal rather than a precious one, some fine jewelers and artists have made copper their own. Foremost among these were New York modernist jewelers Sam Kramer, Art Smith, and Francisco Rebajes.