Charles Boutet De Monvel (1855-1913) Attributed 'Bat Maiden' Art Nouveau Ring

Charles Boutet De Monvel (1855-1913) Attributed 'Bat Maiden' Art Nouveau Ring.

Gold, opal and diamond.

H  3.00 cm (1.18 in).

Origin: France, circa 1900.

Marks: The shank with indistinct maker's mark and French eagle.

Case: Ring Case.

Ring Size  |UK: R|   |US: 8.75|   |EU: 58.9|   |Asia: 18|.

Condition: Very good.

Weight: 11.50 Grams.

A superb and iconic Art Nouveau portrayal of a Parisian goddess of the Demi-Monde. She has style roots going back to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. The very revealing décolleté, flowing hair, bat wings and diamond Aurora head dress suggestively alludes to pagan pleasures and entertainments of the night, the practitioners only heading home with the dawn. 
Fitted case, the silk marked: 
'I. Lautier, Joaillier - Orfevre, Toulouse' 

Illustrated in our book:
Beatriz Chadour-Sampson & Sonya Newell-Smith, Tadema Gallery London Jewellery from the 1860s to 1960s, Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart 2021, cat. no. 6.
The Paris Salons 1895-1914, Jewellery, The Designers A-K, Alastair Duncan 1994, p. 94-107
cf. Kunsthandwerk um 1900, Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Modern Style, Nieuwe Kunst, catalogue of the Hessischen Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, 1965, catalogue number 143, p. 127. 
The Paris Salons1895-1914, Jewellery, The Designers A-K, Alastair Duncan 1994, p. 94-107 
The Belle Epoque of French Jewellery, 1850-1910, Thomas Heneage, 1990, p. 238-241 
"Fauna the art of jewelry " by Patrick Mauries and Evelyne Posseme, 
Thames & Hudson "In the West, bats have often been viewed in a negative light and associated with the Devil, but in ancient China the bat was a symbol of good fortune. In the late 19th century, the bat became associated with gay and lesbian circles, perhaps because it comes out at night, or because it possesses traits of a bird and a mammal combined, thus representing androgyny. There is little doubt this is how we should interpret the motif of these two pieces designed by Rene Lalique and given by the courtesan Liane de Pougy to her lover, the poet Natalie Clifford-Barney. The colour of the enamel and the moonstones was an allusion to Clifford-Barney's blue eyes".

Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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