Lot 79: Diamond-set, Mixed Media and Gold Composition by William Tolliday--"The Ponte Vecchio"

Diamond-set, Mixed Media and Gold Composition by William Tolliday--"The Ponte Vecchio"
Circa 1970Retailed by Garrard, London, England Modeled in 18K yellow gold as the western face of the bridge, the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio rising to the left, some windows set with baguette diamonds, mounted on a canvas backing painted with the Arno at sunset within a plush-mounted. Giltwood, plush mounted frame. Signed William Tolliday, 1970. Reverse side of frame labeled: Designed by William Tolliday for Garrard, The Crown Jewellers. Height 10 1/4 x 12 x 2in (26 x 30 x 5cm)

Provenance: Purchased from Sotheby's, London, South Kensington.William TollidayBorn in 1915, William Tolliday worked his entire career at Garrard & Co., London, the New Bond Street firm designated as England's crown jeweler up until 2007. In the late 1960s he began creating his signature fairytale castles of gold, perched on mineral specimens that he said were inspired by the Houses of Parliament and the buildings of Venice. It was from his workshop above Garrard's that Tolliday produced a very limited number of gold and mineral flower studies and architectural reliefs so which he also painted the canvas backgrounds.