Bidspirit auction | 18k Gold Prayer Book, Diamond

18k Gold Prayer Book, Diamond Cross, 1890 - Late 19th century devotional prayer book in an 18K gold binding by Theodore B. Starr, New York, the covers executed in high-relief with scrolling Art Nouveau foliate around a diamond-set cross composed of 27 bead-set 11-point diamonds (G-H color, VS) totaling approximately three carats. On the back cover is a relief monogram that appears to be ”JG,” with the Christogram ”IHS” on the clasp. Interior stamped “THEODORE B. STARR, 18K, NEW YORK.” Gold weight 623 grams (790 grams total including book). The design, materials and execution are consistent with a high-ranking ecclesiastical commission of the period. Purported by family to have belonged originally to Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, but no documentation supports this attribution. Provenance: From the estate of Stephen Peter Guardino III, thence to the consignor. Previously acquired by Guardino's father from the Di Salvo Brothers antiques gallery, 702 Madison Avenue, New York (a dealer documented in press accounts of the 1920s). Di Salvo Brothers reportedly obtained the item from the estate of Cardinal Gibbons after his death in 1921. The family has maintained that the elder Guardino, on a trip to Italy in the 1930s (pledging his patronage to Catholic missions), secured the blessing of the book by Pope Pius XI. Additional note: The book was removed from the gold covers for AGW determination, and the diamonds were sized and graded by an independent GIA Graduate Gemologist. This item can be shipped in-house. Multiple lot combined shipping may require 3rd Party shipping. Condition Outstanding. Gold cover in very fine condition, with no damage or significant wear. Inside pages very fine with exception of loose ffep. White-out redaction of inscriptions on back of ffep and blank page opposite. Includes later handmade velvet pouch with unidentified family member's initials on embroidered patch.