Nefertiti

Nefertiti, queen of Egypt, left as her image a bust with a high headdress and a perfect profile. Chrystiane Charles made a sconce of it: a fan of gilt-bronze leaves, tapered downward, rises from a headdress of polished metal with clean planes, like the queen's crown. The contrast plays between the chased gold of the leaves and the smooth gleam of the headdress. The light wells up from between the two. Stately and high-bearing, the piece has the carriage of a queen.