AN AMERICAN DENDRITIC JASPER SET BOX, VERDURA LLC, NEW YORK, MID 20TH CENTURY
plain rectangular, with jasper set lid and base, stamped '14K VERDURA'
10cm long

The designer and jeweller Fulco Santo Stefano della Cerda, Duke of Verdura, and Marquis of Murata la Cerda, otherwise known as Fulco di Verdura, was born in Sicily, in 1898, a cousin of the Prince of Lampedusa (author of The Leopard). He first met his lifelong friends and supporters, Mr and Mrs Cole Porter, at a party in his hometown of Palermo in 1919. The Porters introduced Verdura to Coco Chanel at a party they were hosting in Venice in 1926. Having updated the settings of jewellery Chanel had been given by ex-lovers, including Bendor, Duke of Westminster, and the Russian Grand Duke Dmitri, Verdura was made head designer for the company's jewellery. In 1934 he left for America and following a meeting through Diana Vreeland, started working with the jeweller Paul Flato, designing for many West Coast stars and East Coast socialites. His own business was opened in New York in 1939 and in 1941 he collaborated with Salvador Dali on a series of designs. The style icon 'Babe' Paley became a muse and his career as a high society jeweller continued throughout the 50s and 60s, including supplying pieces to the Duchess of Windsor. Retiring to paint in London in 1973, he died in 1978.