Maurice Auction is presenting a sale of around 130 pieces of jewelry from Naïla de Monbrison’s gallery, along with a few pieces from her personal collection, following her passing last October.
By Sandrine Merle.
This group of jewels reflects the unique taste and vision of Naïla de Monbrison. Born in Egypt to a Turkish Jewish mother and a father who served as governor of the province of Minya, she arrived in France following the 1956-58 revolution that overthrew King Farouk (her uncle) and brought Nasser to power. Thirty years later, after the untimely death of her husband Marc de Monbrison (a collector and owner of a gallery specializing in African and Oceanic art), this formidable woman went on to open her own gallery.
Naïla de Monbrison, a pioneer
In her gallery, she championed a new vision of jewelry. She combined beautifully crafted ethnographic and archaeological jewelry, for which she had a huge passion, with contemporary jewelry. What they shared was a rejection of the gold and gemstone jewelry worn on special occasions and then stored away in a safe. She championed jewelry as a gallerist would champion a sculptor or painter, promoting the work of her artists throughout the year in solo and group exhibitions. She played a major role in promoting Giorgio Vigna, Gilles Jonemann, and Taher Chemirik, who is notably absent from this sale. It should be remembered that customers loved her necklaces made up of large discs or a succession of veined agates, interlocking gold links, rings carved from rose quartz, etc.
Masterpieces by Tina Chow and Marcial Berro
A few pieces come from her personal collection, such as the charming terracotta pendant engraved with a portrait of Dora Maar, created in 1940 by Pablo Picasso, but most are pieces from the gallery’s stock. One of the most important is the rock crystal pendant enclosed in a woven bamboo cage by Tina Chow, an American-Japanese model and one of the iconic beauties of the 1980s, who was close to Andy Warhol at the time. Naïla dedicated the gallery’s first exhibition to her in 1987. “The cuff is crafted from simple industrial components—a steel chain mail and yellow gold beads—assembled according to the principles of fine jewelry craftsmanship, using a chain of gold links that are absolutely identical to those of the chain mail” the artist, now based in Argentina, explained to me during our telephone conversation. He remembers creating it for the Association des Amis du Musée d’art moderne du Centre Georges-Pompidou, which at the time offered artist editions every year. He then gave it to Naïla, who was a close friend.
Gilles Jonemann, a key figure of the gallery
Apart from Tina Chow and Marcial Berro, this sale reveals other key figures from the gallery, such as the Italians Giorgio Vigna, Giampaolo Babetto, and Gilles Joneman. “I met Naïla through the sculptor Paul Houdet, who had made a gold chain from a snake’s spine,” recalls Gilles Jonemann. This artist’s approach perfectly synthesizes the two types of jewelry that Naïla de Monbrison loved: ethnographic and contemporary. He uses “poor,” organic, symbolic materials, much like the material cultures of Oceania. The beauty of his eggshell ring is matched only by the power of the necklace made from a series of ordinary black iron keys. “At each exhibition, I presented about sixty pieces and sold them all!”, he recalls with delight. On the other hand, fans of the jewelry of Taher Chemirik, another key figure at the gallery, will find only one pair of earrings, which is not very representative of his remarkable exploration of the link.
A very chic clientele
Vincent Darré, a close friend of Marcial Berro, remembers the gallery’s exhibitions and, above all, the very chic vernissages that ended with a glass of white wine in hand on the street, as the gallery was so tiny. All the intellectuals from the Left Bank—artists, writers, and so on—were there. “The location of this very sober gallery, with its simple velvet-lined window, a stone’s throw from Condé Nast, contributed greatly to its renown and success. Vogue editor-in-chief Colombe Pringle loved the selection. Fashion editors borrowed pieces to accessorize the outfits they photographed in the fashion spreads.”
A selection of the best artists
This sale reveals other artists spotted by Naïla de Monbrison, who, until recently, had a keen eye. Among her artists are Catherine Le Gal, Claude Boisselier, Violaine Febvret, Lara Koulajian, Florence Lehmann, Salomé Lippuner with her horsehair necklace, Géraldine Luttenbacher with a magnificent bracelet made of bamboo threaded with gold, Juliette Polac with a brooch composed of two interlocking shapes, and Delphine Nardin with her delicate work in frosted glass. Even after her death, Naïla de Monbrison continues to shine a light on the artists she loved so much and on contemporary jewelry that is still undervalued in France. Unjustly so.
Banner image: Pendant featuring a rock crystal set in a bamboo lattice, with a nylon cord – Tina Chow
Sale on Wednesday, April 9, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., room 14/15 at Drouot.
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