THE PERSONAL TOUCH

Verdura pineapple brooch, mid 20th century

The intriguing and wonderful thing about estate sales, and the reason why they are so popular with collectors, is that they reflect the taste of the owners. You’ll find themes running through the pieces, such as hens with the Duchess of Devonshire, the fabulous bejewelled love tokens of Elizabeth Taylor, or the film stills and black and white portraits of Audrey Hepburn – all of which have come up for sale over the last decade. At the sale of American heiress Bunny Mellon’s estate were 18 items of finely crafted Verdura jewellery. Her husband, Paul, was a patron of Fulco di Verdura, the Sicilian aristocrat-turned-jeweller who established his shop in New York in 1939. Paul would buy Bunny a present from Verdura every now and again, and among the treasures she received was this gold, citrine and demantoid garnet pineapple brooch. It sold for £14,338 against an estimate of £6,300 to £9,500.