Art Nouveau brooch by Jules Chéret, French, circa 1900. A circular yellow gold brooch with a bust of a lady with ornately carved flowing hair and ribbon, wearing a diamond choker set with three rose cut diamonds, all with an approximate total weight of 0.03 carats. Signed by Jules Chéret, partial maker's mark for Fonseque et Olive.
This brooch is typical of Chéret’s jewellery work, which was often wrought of gold and diamonds and featured one central fashionable lady. The image on this particular brooch is similar to a lithograph by the artist entitled ‘Dance’ (1899), displaying the same unusual pose, hair in a top-knot, and decorated with flowers and ribbons. Chéret is known to have often incorporated his works on paper directly into his jewellery.
The manufacturers, Fonseque et Olive, were also renown Parisian jewellers. Partnering in 1885, they exhibited at the 1889 World Exposition, and worked largely in the Art Nouveau style.
