A pair of hardstone pendent earrings, circa 1950
£479
Auction: 23 October 2024 From 14:00 BST
Description
Each agate sphere contained within a segmented cap, suspending a curb-link tassel, post fittings, length 4.3cm
Provenance
From the Private Collection of Yolette Leconte Magloire (1917-1981). Hence by descent
Yolette Leconte Magloire was First Lady of Haiti from 1950 to 1956. She was a direct descendant of Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1758-1806), the former slave who ultimately became leader of the Haitian Revolution, founder and leader of an independent Haiti.
At just 19 years old, Yolette Leconte married Paul Eugene Magloire (1907-2001) who would become the 30th President of Haiti. The election in 1950 was the first in the nation's history where all adult males had a right to vote. After gaining office, Magloire oversaw women's suffrage being granted. During his presidency, Haiti became one of the most popular Caribbean destinations for American and European tourists. Magloire and Leconte emphasised public works and cultural projects during this time. In 1951, the Madame Paul E. Magloire Foundation was created to establish two solid educational and professional training institutions for young girls in Haiti, L'ecoles des arts menagers of Saint Martin and Cap-Haitien. Yolette Leconte Magloire was also known for her charity banquets and balls, the proceeds of which were used to fund hospitals and orphanages.
Magloire's anti-communist position helped create close ties with the U.S. In early 1955, Leconte and Magloire were invited on a State Visit to Washington D.C. They were welcomed by then Vice President Richard Nixon and were received by President Eisenhower at the White House.
Also see lots 149-167.
Footnote
These earrings are clearly visible in a portrait of Yolette Leconte Magloire done by the African-American artist Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998), an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance movement. Her connection with Haiti developed through her husband, Louis Vergniaud Pierre-Noel, who was a prominent Haitian artist whom she meet while they were both studying at Columbia University, New York.
Already an established artist, in 1954 she was a guest professor at the Centre D'Art and Foyer des Artes Plastiques in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. While there, she was invited by the Haitian government to capture the local people and the country's landscapes through her painting. She completed over forty two paintings there, which became representative of her most well known works. Yolette Leconte Magloire sponsored Jones' exhibition Oeuvres des Loïs Mailou Jones Pierre-Noël where the breadth of her work was shown.
The portrait of Leconte featuring these earrings as well as the bracelet (lot 149) was one of a pair, the other being of her husband President Paul Magloire and was actually commissioned by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1955. Painting reproduced with thanks to the family.