Alexandre GUEYTON (1818-1862) - Lot 133

Alexandre GUEYTON (1818-1862) Yellow gold bracelet with snake-shaped links, the bodies finely chased, the articulated and black-enameled heads adorned with blister pearls, joined by plain and polished rectangular links, one link opens to form a ratchet clasp with chain. Jeweller's hallmark. Work circa 1860. Weight: 65 g. PRICE: 18 (one of the pearls is cracked, some enamel is missing, minor bumps and wear) Initially mainly a goldsmith, inventor of an electroplating technique that won him a medal at the 1851 London and 1855 Paris Universal Exhibitions, Alexandre Gueyton supplied Emperor Napoleon III and Prince Nicolas Youssoupov, before devoting himself from 1856 onwards to the creation of jewelry inspired by Egyptian, Byzantine, medieval and Renaissance art. "Gueyton had a highly developed artistic sense; he was an assiduous visitor to museums, where he was particularly attracted by the decorative motifs of vanished civilizations. He drew inspiration from the Egyptian documents in the Louvre. [...] The jewels that came out of Gueyton's workshops were received with great favor at the Tuileries, and the Empress commissioned the artist to create a chased and enamelled set, with Byzantine-style buckles and clasps, which she liked to wear often." Henri Vever, La bijouterie française au XIXe siècle, H. Floury, Paris, 1908, Tome II, p. 28.