id:			380106
accession number:	2020.203
share license status:	Copyrighted
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2020.203
updated:		

Seashell (Coquillage) Compact, c. 1953–56. Jean Schlumberger (French, 1907–1987). 18 karat gold; overall: 33 x 25.4 x 10.2 cm (13 x 10 x 4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.203

title:				Seashell (Coquillage) Compact
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1953–56
creation date earliest:		1953
creation date latest:		1956
current location:		
creditline:			Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift
copyright:			

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culture:	France
technique:	18 karat gold
department:	Decorative Art and Design
collection:	Decorative Arts
type:		Jewelry
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Jean Schlumberger (French, 1907–1987)  - designer

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measurements: Overall: 33 x 25.4 x 10.2 cm (13 x 10 x 4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	Marked, interior lid: SCHLUMBERGER-3-
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection
	opening date:   2022-09-11T04:00:00
	<i>Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Sotheby's, New York, NY, November 20, 2014, Lot 236, sold to Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley)
	date: 2014
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 2009–2020
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2020–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
A billowy powder puff made of snow white down plucked from a French swan nestles within this solid gold compact.

digital description:
One of the most celebrated Parisian designers of jewelry and luxurious accessories, Jean Schlumberger created this compact during the height of popularity for the sunny French Riviera. From the beach clubs of St. Tropez to the casinos of Monte Carlo, fashionable women wore jewels and powdered their noses both night and day. The seashell motif no doubt appealed to such society mavens, enjoying the post-war prosperity of France in the 1950s.

wall description:
After WWII, the designer Jean Schlumberger left his native France and moved to New York City where he opened a jewelry salon. In 1954, Schlumberger was persuaded to join Tiffany and Company; he had the honor of being one of only four jewelry designers that Tiffany and Company has allowed to sign their work. The sea was Schlumberger’s constant inspiration; the double spiral form of the seashell heightens this golden compact to the realm of the fantastical. A fashionable woman would have carried this to powder her face; there is a powder puff made of white down inside.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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