Tuesday’s auction of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s famed Medusa pendant (pictured) turned out to be a beautiful sight to see, with the ultrarare piece selling for $3.65 million—more than 18 times its high estimate.
The item was sold as part of the Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York City.
Three determined bidders competed for nearly 10 minutes to acquire the gold, opal, and demantoid garnet pendant, which is considered one of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s first creations.
The final hammer price set a new world auction record for an item produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the celebrated artist and son of Charles Tiffany, the founder of the famed retailer. Its original estimate was $100,000—$200,000. Its snake motif was inspired by the famed Greek Gorgon known for the venomous snakes in her hair, whose gaze could turn people to stone.
The piece was first exhibited at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, and it later appeared in a New York auction in 1943. But this marks the first time it has appeared in public in 78 years. The item has had a variety of owners and for a long time it was considered missing.
Carol Elkins, Sotheby’s senior jewelry specialist, told JCK last week that the Medusa pendant was “considered a holy grail of Louis Comfort Tiffany jewels.
“The design of the jewel is so striking and unforgettable that it sticks in the memory banks,” she continued. “[Because] of its unknown whereabouts, the hope was always that it would one day reappear.”
The piece’s history can be here.
Overall, this recent Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale garnered the highest total ever for a jewelry auction at a Sotheby’s New York City sales room, with 84% of lots sold and 68% of sold lots surpassing their high estimates. There were participants from more than 45 countries around the world, with 74% of bidders participating online.
Thirteen jewels topped $1 million at the sale, with a 6.11 ct. fancy intense blue diamond ring fetching $8 million.
Top: Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Medusa pendant (photo courtesy of Sotheby’s)
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