Beschreibung:

Renaissance Revival Gem-set and Enamel Chain, composed of polychrome champleve enamel links collet-set front and verso with foil-back sapphire, ruby, emerald, pearl, turquoise, diamond, amethyst, coral, moonstones, opal and pink topaz, lg. 26 3/4 in., (minor enamel loss, later hook closure). Provenance: Direct descent through the family of Henry Parish (1830-1917), who attended university in Paris and served as President of New York Life from 1871. As a member of the American Geographic Society, Parish was instrumental in raising money for the Robert Peary expedition, the first to reach the North Pole. The Parish family lived in the mansion on Fifth Avenue now occupied by Henri Bendel. Note: For enamel work in a similar style by Carlo Giuliano see Castellani and Giuliano: Revivalist Jewellers of the Nineteenth Century, plate 141.