Fern Leaves Brooch

Description This magnificent brooch is an outstanding example of Lalique's jewelry. Here, layered fern leaves, in opalescent cameo glass and green enamel, are connected by diamond-set "stalks." At the center a large cushion-shaped opal is mounted in a silver-gilt frame set with small diamonds of varying size. The lateral segments are hinged to the central unit to permit movement. Henry Walters bought this piece from Lalique in 1904 at the World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. The symmetrical design anticipates Lalique's future work. Within several years, the artist abandoned both jewelry and the Art Nouveau style to devote himself to the production of glass molded in the Art Deco style.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
12/07/1964	Treatment	cleaned
7/25/1983	Examination	examined for loan
7/03/1984	Examination	examined for condition
7/03/1984	Treatment	cleaned

Exhibitions

• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.
• Objects of Adornment: Five Thousand Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. 1984-1987.
• Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery and the Zucker Family Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1987.
• From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2014-2016.

Provenance World's Fair, St. Louis, Missouri, 1904 [no. 34]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1904, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1904