DIVA acquires Oscar Massin brooch

For the first time in history, a Belgian public collection has acquired a jewel by the Belgian born Parisian joaillier-fabricant Oscar Massin (1829-1913). Read the article Erik wrote for Jewellery History Today about this jewel.

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Essay for catalogue raisonné of Aris Marakis

The Greek-Italian artist Aris Marakis (1989) graduated as a sculptor at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. His creations explore sculpture, sound and primitivism, mainly in ‘vasophones’: sculptures in terracotta that produce sound when one blows air into it. Erik wrote an essay for Aris’ recently published catalogue raisonné, edited by art history professor Mauro di Vito, of which a summary in English is presented here.

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Fabergé research quoted in NRC

Today, NRC – one of the leading national newspapers in the Netherlands – printed a cover story in their Cultural Supplement dedicated to how, on certain occasions in the past, the Dutch royal family has dealt with gifts. My research into Fabergé’s 1901 Queen Wilhelmina’s Nephrite Tray, published in the Summer 2018 Fabergé Research Newsletter, was quoted extensively in this article and the tray features both on the cover and on the cover of the Cultural Supplement.

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Quoted by Sotheby’s: Massin’s floating diamonds necklace

My first auction catalogue literature reference happened when this necklace was sold on 11 December 2018 in Sotheby’s London’s Fine Jewels auction. This previously unknown necklace by Oscar Massin sold for 274.000 GBP, almost 4 times the estimate. My article on Oscar Massin’s jewels in the Dutch Royal Collection was referenced in the literature overview in the catalogue, because the design of this necklace is clearly based on that of a very special medallion in the Dutch Royal Collection.

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