Platinum, faience, coral, diamond and pearl 'Isis' stickpin. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

Featuring a faience bust of the Egyptian goddess Isis, her right hand covering her left breast, the left arm truncated at the wrist and covered with rose-cut diamonds; the bust resting on a platinum and rose-cut diamond base atop a trapezoidal coral plaque, bracketed at both ends with rectangular box-shaped coral and pearls, the pin stem numbered S.L 7201; circa 1923. Estimate:  $15,000 – $20,000

PROPERTY FORMERLY FROM THE ESTATE OF IYA, LADY ABDY, THENCE BY DESCENT TO THE PRESENT OWNER

Note: This pin is strikingly similar to the one in a Cartier London illustration titled ‘‘The ‘Tutankhamen’ Influence in Modern Jewellery,” featured in the Illustrated London News, January 26, 1924. This illustration is reproduced and discussed in Cartier 1900-1939 by Judy Rudoe, pages 136-137. Similarly, the pin stem is numbered S.L, as are lots 407 and 410; these letters typically appear on pieces by Cartier which were sold in London.

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels. New York | 11 Dec 2013, 10:00 AM - http://www.sothebys.com