Ceramics have been an important feature of Peter Hoogeboom’s jewellery since the mid-1990s and these tiny vessels (which he makes) are a recurring feature in his work. Conscious that clay has been used for body adornment since earliest times, he brings an innovative instinct more usually seen in clay vessels than clay jewellery. ‘Instead of using massive beads, in each new series, I try to find new ways to make ceramics supple and wearable. Using slip casted hollow elements contributes to a lighter weight and keeping them relatively small and/or closed adds to their strength’.

Peter Hoogeboom has acknowledged a fascination for ethnographic museums and has written that ‘When people tell me my jewellery seems to come from some unknown far away culture, I realize my love for ethnographics must show through’. This brooch, from the series Year of the Ox, was inspired by Chinese ways of packaging and carrying foods.

This brooch is one of forty-five pieces of jewellery given to the V&A from the collection of the late Louise Klapisch.