Necklace
1961 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Over the centuries artists have often brought new ideas to jewellery design. In Britain, in the 1950s and ’60s, they contributed greatly to the growth of individual expression, perhaps because they were working outside any commercial constraints.
In 1961 designs by artists were shown at the International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery, held at the Goldsmiths’ Hall, London. This groundbreaking exhibition aimed to ‘stimulate public interest in jewellery as an art and to encourage British designers in this field’. Many artists were invited to contribute, some making jewellery for the first time. They were sent a small box of wax, from which they modelled a piece and returned it to the organisers for casting in silver or bronze.
These artists’ jewels reflected a diversity of influences. Often rough-textured and heavy, they added a fascinating new dimension to the use of metals. As the catalogue said, they ‘proved, if proof be needed, that cheap materials need not mean artistic insignificance, and that creative imagination shown with one visual art can very often be diverted to another’. These precepts, heralding alternative priorities within jewellery, helped consolidate the position of the emerging artist-jewellery movement.
Terry Frost (1915–2003) was an acclaimed abstract painter and printmaker.
In 1961 designs by artists were shown at the International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery, held at the Goldsmiths’ Hall, London. This groundbreaking exhibition aimed to ‘stimulate public interest in jewellery as an art and to encourage British designers in this field’. Many artists were invited to contribute, some making jewellery for the first time. They were sent a small box of wax, from which they modelled a piece and returned it to the organisers for casting in silver or bronze.
These artists’ jewels reflected a diversity of influences. Often rough-textured and heavy, they added a fascinating new dimension to the use of metals. As the catalogue said, they ‘proved, if proof be needed, that cheap materials need not mean artistic insignificance, and that creative imagination shown with one visual art can very often be diverted to another’. These precepts, heralding alternative priorities within jewellery, helped consolidate the position of the emerging artist-jewellery movement.
Terry Frost (1915–2003) was an acclaimed abstract painter and printmaker.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Modelled in wax and cast in silver |
| Brief description | Necklace modelled in wax by Terry Frost and cast in silver by HJ Company. English, 1961. |
| Physical description | Silver necklace consisting of five oval abstract shapes attached to a series of sections of silver wire which are cast and joined to one another by small loops. The necklace is closed by a large hook which joins to a short section of five chain links. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | (Unmarked) |
| Object history | Commissioned from the abstract artist Terry Frost for the International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery, Goldsmiths Hall, London, 1961. A matchbox full of wax was sent to a number of contemporary artists with which they modelled a jewel. The wax model was then returned to the organisers of the exhibition to be cast in metal. These artist's pieces, often rough-textured and heavy, added a fascinating and new dimension and as the exhibition catalogue stated, 'proved, if proof be needed, that cheap materials need not mean artistic insignificance, and that creative imagination shown with one visual art can very often be diverted to another.' The necklace was cast at the Royal College of Art (School of Silversmithing and Jewellery) at the joint invitation of the V&A and the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. |
| Production | Made for the International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery, Goldsmiths Hall, 1961. Reason For Production: Exhibition |
| Summary | Over the centuries artists have often brought new ideas to jewellery design. In Britain, in the 1950s and ’60s, they contributed greatly to the growth of individual expression, perhaps because they were working outside any commercial constraints. In 1961 designs by artists were shown at the International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery, held at the Goldsmiths’ Hall, London. This groundbreaking exhibition aimed to ‘stimulate public interest in jewellery as an art and to encourage British designers in this field’. Many artists were invited to contribute, some making jewellery for the first time. They were sent a small box of wax, from which they modelled a piece and returned it to the organisers for casting in silver or bronze. These artists’ jewels reflected a diversity of influences. Often rough-textured and heavy, they added a fascinating new dimension to the use of metals. As the catalogue said, they ‘proved, if proof be needed, that cheap materials need not mean artistic insignificance, and that creative imagination shown with one visual art can very often be diverted to another’. These precepts, heralding alternative priorities within jewellery, helped consolidate the position of the emerging artist-jewellery movement. Terry Frost (1915–2003) was an acclaimed abstract painter and printmaker. |
| Bibliographic reference | Clare Phillips, Jewels and Jewellery London, V&A Publications, 2000
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.620-1962 |
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| Record created | February 3, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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