Rago Auctions

At just 22 years old, aspiring Tunisian artist Jacline Nataf Mazard followed the lead of her father-in-law, Jean Marie Mazard, and began to sculpt in gold. The collaborators formerly established Jean Mahie in 1969, naming it for Jacline's young son Cyril’s pronunciation of his grandfather’s name. Jacline and Jean Marie worked side-by-side and usually in silence, shaping 22-karat gold into one-of-a-kind pieces that were sensuous and sculptural, warm and powerful — just like their chosen material.  

Almost immediately after they launched the Jean Mahie line, Jacline and Jean Marie were courted by top luxury retailers: Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and Nieman Marcus all carried Jean Mahie by the end of 1970. Their designs spoke to the changing winds of the era, a cultural moment when women were claiming social independence and the counter-culture was looking to earlier civilizations for political and aesthetic cues. Jacline was strongly influenced by both Hellenistic and Pre-Columbian motifs, which she channeled into her fearless works of wearable art.