Vintage Jakob Bengel Art Deco machine age, jet black galalith and silver tone chrome angular geometric bow motif brooch

Lovely vintage Art Deco brooch by Jakob Bengel, made in the early 1930s. This piece is beautifully engineered out of a black colour galalith (type of casein-based early plastic similar to bakelite) and chrome. The reverse shows the simple rivet construction, creating this simple and elegant design.

I love the way the soft lines of a bow have been given the classic Art Deco angular aerodynamics in this design. The brooch is in very good vintage condition.

Jakob Bengel was a chain and costume jewellery factory, founded by Jakob Bengel in 1873 in Idar-Oberstein, Germany.

Until 1920, the company specialised in the production of watch chains and chatelaines (pendants for pocket watches). In the 1920s and 1930s, it became one of the leading manufacturers of fashion jewellery in the Art Deco style.

It was during the Bauhaus and Art Deco period that designers were looking to obtain new materials and inspiration to produce costume jewellery. Inspired by French Avant-Garde and other fashion trendsetters such as Coco Chanel, Bengel started to produce experimental jewellery. The pieces, catalogued 1924-1939, combined brass and chrome with geometric shapes of coloured galalith.