Imperial Pearl Capitol

1389                         IMPORTANT CULTURED PEARL MODEL OF U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING, 1966. - App. 47 in. x 20 in. x 19.                   90,000            Unsold

The high bid was  $90,000 and did not meet the reserve.

A five-foot long model of the U.S. Capitol.  The model was created with 217,569 cultured pearls and a jeweled flag. It was commissioned by the Imperial Pearl Syndicate in 1959 and presented to the Society in 1966.  A formal reception was held to unveil the Pearl Capitol on February 1, 1966.

It took two years to gather the cultured pearls to make this model.

• The 217,569 high-quality pearls are the equivalent of 4,355 pearl necklaces.

• The windows are windowed with mother-of-pearl.

• The miniature American Flag atop the Capitol is platinum.

• The stripes are alternating bands of rubies and cultured pearls making up the stripes.

• The stars are diamonds on a field of brilliant blue sapphires.  

In 1966, the flag alone was valued at $5,000 and the total appraised value was $250,000.
In April of 1988, the Pearl Capitol was appraised by Boone-Sons Inc. of McLean, VA. with the following comment: “It is our opinion, to replace this fabulous replica, the cost would be approximately $640,000.00 wholesale, a very conservative amount.”

We recently received this notice.

Dear Mr. Bazar,

Per our phone conversation today, attached are a press release and photograph of the pearl capitol that the Imperial Pearl Syndicate created and gave to the U. S. Capitol  Historical Society in 1965.  We have had it in our collection ever since.  However, as much as we wish to keep it, the Society has no adequate space to display the pearl capitol to the public.  We recently arranged to have it offered at auction on November 6, 2005 at Sloans & Kenyon Fine Art Auctioneers in Bethesda, Maryland.  The proceeds of the sale will help further the Society’s educational mission, our first priority.  

 The pre-sale estimate of the pearl capitol is $100,000-$125,000.  It comes with historical documents and photographs dating to 1965, many directly from the Imperial Pearl Syndicate.  For example, we have photographs of the pearl capitol with IPS representatives, as well as the original invitation from the special presentation on February 1, 1966.   The Society recently had a new case fashioned for security and display purposes.

 We hope that the pearl capitol will find a home in a showroom or building lobby where its fine workmanship can be appreciated by a broad audience.  Since this item was created by the Imperial Pearl Syndicate and you remain the premier pearl company in America, you would provide the ideal setting for this unique model.  It is an absolutely beautiful piece.

We have entered negations to have the Pearl Capital returned to us.