Fuset y Grau gold, platinum diamond and pink stone earrings

A pair of fine yellow gold diamond and pink store earrings. Made by Fuset y Grau, Barcelona in the 1920’s in the Noucentist style. 5.5 cm 

Fuset y Grau was a leading figure of the Noucentista and Modernista movements in jewelry. They shared this reputation with another contemporary jeweler and compatriot: Lluis Masriera. Both were active from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth and both had their workshops in Barcelona. Fuset y Grau was one of the leading artisanal houses of its time. His excellence was rewarded at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris, where he was invited to exhibit his creations in 1925. Both the artist shared a strong taste for medieval-inspired themes combined with the natural plant and floral motifs so characteristic of the Art Nouveau movement. Fuset y Grau’s medieval portraits of women with long flowing hair, engraved on ivory, are highly sought after by collectors from all over the world. The Spanish house is also distinguished by its way of combining ivory, plique-à-jour enamels, pearls and the use of highlighting with gold engraving. The firm also designed and produced bracelets, pendants and brooches exhibiting other exotic cultural themes, including those of the Aztecs and Assyrians.

Noucentisme

From within the furnace of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, grew an art movement in the early 20th century that influenced painters, writers, architects, garden designers — and jewelers. The movement, called Noucentisme, arose as a reaction to an earlier artistic period known as Modernism, which was associated with modernist movements throughout Europe. Noucentisme reflected the Catalan aesthetic -which is, of course, in opposition to Spanish and European influences- and turned to the region’s spiritual roots. Noucentisme has been poetically described as “a term without outlines, almost indefinable,” that pretends to gather “the palpitations of time.” The painter Joaquín Sunyer described the characteristics of Noucentisme in a broad way: Imaginative art, Intellectualism, Art for art’s sake Order, perfection, and beauty. One of the movement’s founders, a lawyer and artist named Eugeni D’Ors, believed that humankind wished to enter a new period of “morality” and that the ideal motto for a new society would be “the work well done.” Noucentisme jewelry is muscular yet sensual, which might also describe Catalan nationalism. Artistically, the form espouses clear geometrical structures, harmony of all the parts and work that demonstrates careful design as opposed to impulsiveness. The materials often used in Noucentisme jewelry are rose cut diamonds, synthetic spinel, marcasite, synthetic sapphires, aquamarine and turquoise; and silver, gold, and combinations of the two, with details of platinum. Enamels are used as highlights. The pieces feature hammered surfaces with spirals and stepped figures. Rectangular forms are preferred to ovals.