bracelet
- Museum number
- 2001,0709.1
- Description
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Silver bracelet of six hinged curved plaques, each decorated with a geometric design in red, black and eggshell lacquer. The design consists of a triangle intersecting a semi-circle. There are two varieties of eggshell lacquer: one using fragments remaining visible within base of black lacquer, the other using powdered eggshell to create a grey mottled effect. The clasp is gold.
- Production date
- 1926-1928
- Dimensions
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Diameter: 65 millimetres (flexible)
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Height: 40 millimetres (incl. catches)
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Height: 35 millimetres
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Weight: 77 grammes
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Designed by Gérard Sandoz (1902-1995) for his father's Paris firm and made between 1926 and 1928. Cigarette cases with similar laquer patterns of concentric semi-circular bands with stong diagonals by Sandoz are illustrated in 'L'Art Vivant', 3e Année no. 70, 15 October 1927, p. 861.
The bracelet is inlaid with a geometric motif in red, black and eggshell lacquer. As the motif repeats, the colours alternate to create a tremendous sense of rhythm. The eggshell lacquer occurs either as white fragments in a base of black lacquer, or as powdered eggshell mixed with black to create a mottled grey. Lacquer is a natural resin made from the sap of the lacquer tree. It is applied in layers, each of which has to dry before the next is added. Natural lacquer dries black; cinnabar turns it a rich red. The technique, used in both China and Japan, was adopted in France in the 1920s and became a popular for cigarette cases and jewellery because it did not chip as easily as enamel.
Unlike the jewellers such as Cartier who worked with expensive gemstones and whose production was on a huge scale, artist jewellers, of whom Sandoz is among the most original, worked in a wide range of materials and made a far fewer items, often to commission. As a result, much of their work remains in private hands. The firm's contribution to the 1925 Paris exhibition consisted entirely of work designed by the 23-year old Gérard, but by 1931, he had given up jewellery design for painting and films.' (text from J. Rudoe 'A French Modernist bracelet', in 'British Museum Magazine', Autumn/Winter 2001)
The maker's mark JT has not yet been identified.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
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Exhibited:
2012-2013 Nov-Mar, Bonn, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle, Treasures of the World's Cultures
Acq-2003: Displayed in G48
- Condition
- Some wear at the edges and one of the hinges has been repaired. Otherwise excellent condition.
- Acquisition date
- 2001
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 2001,0709.1