Salvador Dalí

Alemany & Co. Inc, New York
Cummins Catherwood, Philadelphia (acquired from the above on March 2, 1959)
Thence by descent

Linda Livingston, ed., Dalí, A Study of his Art-in-Jewels, The Collection of the Owen Cheatham Foundation, Greenwich, 1959, p. 46, illustration in color of another example on the cover & fig. XIX
Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Dalí, New York, 1979, illustration of another example p. 234 & in color p. 125
Robert Descharnes, Salvador Dalí, The Work, The Man, New York, 1984, illustration in color of another example p. 352
Barbara Cartlidge, Twentieth-Century Jewelry, New York, 1985, no. 93, illustration in color of another example on the cover & p. 72
Robert Descharnes & Gilles Neret, Salvador Dalí 1904-1989, The Paintings: 1904-1946, vol. I, Cologne, 1994, no. 762, illustration in color of another example p. 338
Center for Dalinian Studies, Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, ed., Dalí, Jewels-Joyas, The Collection of the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, Figueres, 2001, illustration in color of another example pp. 37-39
Center for Dalinian Studies, Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, ed., Dalí Jewels, The Collection of the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, Barcelona, 2011, no. 7, illustration in color of another example on the cover & pp. 10 & 47

The movement is running at time of cataloguing, however it was not tested for the accuracy of time or duration of the power reserve and may need service at the buyer's discretion. Please note that Sotheby's does not guarantee the future working of the movement. There is some loss to the enamel at the edges of the piece, most notably at 1, 3, and 5. Please note that this loss is underneath the bezel and is not visible when the piece is being worn. Otherwise, fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A self-styled “Renaissance Man,” Salvador Dalí’s talents stretched far beyond his extraordinary gifts as a painter and draughtsman; his expansive artistic repertoire also included film, sculpture, poetry, photography and theatre, often in collaboration with other artists. Dalí’s exquisite jewels, however, capture the attention and imagination like nothing else. A triumph of technical virtuosity and spectacular visual pyrotechnics, they embody the "love of everything that is gilded and excessive" of the man whose name André Breton turned into the anagram "Avida Dollars.”

The crowning glory of this ensemble of thirty-nine jewels, which Dalí created between 1941 and 1970, is undoubtedly The Eye of Time. Originally conceived in 1949 as a gift for his wife Gala, The Eye of Time plays on the themes and myths that obsessed the artist’s thoughts and incorporates two of the most iconic Dalí symbols: the eye and the clock. Surrounded by rows of pavé-set diamonds and set in platinum with a cabochon ruby, the eye's pupil is made of three shades of blue enamel and brilliantly doubles as the face of a working Movado movement.

In 1949, the Philadelphia banker and philanthropist Cummins Catherwood and his wife Ellengowen acquired twenty-two pieces of jewelry directly from the artist, reviewing his paper sketches of the works before their execution in diamond, platinum and precious gems. The Catherwoods were friends of the artist Rudolgph von Ripper, a collaborator of of the Argentinian jeweler Carlos Alemany, whom Dalí entrusted the making of the limited number of these pieces under the artist's strict observation. The Catherwoods displayed their collection of Dalí in their living room in their Haverford, Pennsylvania mansion where they later received the artist for a visit. They also lent these important jewels all over the world to various educational and cultural organizations.

In 1958, these twenty-two works from the Catherwood jewelry collection were acquired by the Owen Cheatham Foundation. There was, however, one piece that Mrs. Catherwood was unable to fully part with: The Eye of Time. When she requested that Dalí make her an example of the beloved brooch she could keep, created entirely under his guidance, he gladly complied, resulting in the creation of the present work. 

There are four known examples of The Eye of Time, including one sold by Sotheby's on May 8, 2014 for $1,055,000, another which is in a prominent European Royal collection, one which was formerly in the collection of The Owen Cheatham Foundation and which is now on permanent display at the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí in Figueres, and finally the present work.