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- A Short History of Twentieth Century Jewellery
A Short History of Twentieth Century Jewellery
- By Whitehouse, Richard
- Published 24 April 2008
- Jewellery, Snuff Boxes and Miniatures , 20th-century Decorative Art
- Unrated
Whitehouse, Richard
Richard Whitehouse manufactures a wide range of quality silver jewellery which is sold at various craft galleries around the country. He has designed and manufactured a wide variety of silver ware and jewellery, his work having been sold in Mappin & Webb, Liberty, Harrods and Fortnum & Mason in London, and exported to Japan, the USA and Europe.
www.richard-whitehouse.co.uk
Jewellery as art
The art world in the 1940s and 50s was dominated by the American Abstract expressionists. Artists saw themselves as pioneers, liberating the world from the bonds of tradition. These ideas pervaded the whole world of art and design, and found expression in what were called Studio Crafts. This usually demanded a single individual being responsible for both designing and making unique hand made pieces.
In Germany and France the apprenticeship system remained strong, and the skills of the jewellery were respected as such. German colleges still teach rigorous technical courses as well as fine art. Many teachers are noted jewellers in their own right. Herman Jünger at the Munich Acadamie der bildenden künste, Fredrich Becker in Düsseldorf and Reinhold Reiling in Pforzhiem.
American work is characterised by its freedom from traditional restraint, the influence of the North and South American can be detected. The bold expressiveness can be seen in the work of many jewellers such as Robert Ebendorf, William Harper, Mary Lee Hu, Richard Mawdsley, Stanley Lechtzin, Earl Pardon and many more. Many of America’s leading jewellers are also teachers who pass on their experience and enthusiasm to new generations of artist jewellers.
With the breaking down of the traditional barriers between different art disciplines, an increasing number of jewellers have been presenting their work as art. In England, David Watkins of the Royal College or Art first trained as a jeweller and then turned to jewellery. His work has usually been exhibited in galleries with an artist’s eye and attitude guiding its considered presentation. David Courts and Bill Hackett work mainly to commission in precious materials. Their designs are characterised by a sleek sensuality, their themes often taken from unusual often-macabre aspects of nature: a frog’s skeleton or a crayfish for example.
Several German jewellers work was moving towards the ‘artistic’ in the early 1970s. They were known for their attention to detail, presented their work as ‘pictures’. Ulrike Bahrs and Norbert Murrie produced pictorial pieces that served either as jewellery or as graphical images. Gerd Rothman presented stickpins in a frame with a painted background. Gijs Bakker and Robert Smit from Holland and Claus Bury from Germany showed an affinity with conceptual art as they were just as much concerned with showing their ideas as showing a finished product.
New Concepts, New materials, new techniques
There was significant change in the fashions designed and worn by young people reflecting the boom years and the sexual revolution of the 1960s, which was taking place in the West. A notable English jeweller was Gerda Flockinger. Her work exhibited irreverence for the traditional treatment of metals. She melted the surface of her jewellery to exploit the natural texture that was created. She fused wire and shapes cut from sheet metal, setting semi precious stones into the finished form so that they appeared like intriguing decorative blisters. Patricia Tormey slammed molten gold between layers of textured charcoal and dropped it into a tray of lentils. In the mid-60s a small group of British jewellers Wendy Ramshaw, David Watkins and Caroline Broadhead, took a new interest in abstraction. In a brief return to the Bauhaus principles of design, they considered the relationship between form and function. His training as a sculptor inevitably influenced Watkins work. His jewellery pieces are architectonic in form, and stand independently as works of art.
One of the least heralded but important jewellers of the 60s and 70s is Stuart Devlin: silversmith, goldsmith, jeweller and sculptor, designer of coins, commemorative medallions, trophies, furniture, and interiors. Among his many accolades, Mr. Devlin holds a Royal Warrant and Appointment as Goldsmith and Jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen of England. In 1967, he began designing jewellery and, over the next decade, became well known in London's West End. In 1982, he was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment as Goldsmith and Jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen.
In Holland, traditionally trained jewellers Gijs Bakker and Emmy van Leersum turned the very notion of jewellery on its head when they experimented with simple forms that became both clothing and jewellery.
Austria is now beginning to establish its own style. Students began to experiment with jewellery as a mode of self-expression. Wolf Wennrick, Helge Larsen and Darani Lewers have been the key figures in this development, while Frank Bauer, Anne Bronsworth, Susan Cohn, Rowenta Gough, Peter Tully and Lyn Tune are just a few of the of the new generation of Austrian jewellers producing increasingly interesting results.
In the 1970s the Austrians, Pierre Degan, Fritz Maierhofer and the Englishman Roger Morris captured imagery from space hardware and microtechnology in jewellery. They used metal and coloured plastics in combination, with finishes that were reminiscent of machine made products.
The idealistic notion that "good" and innovative" design could be made available to all was taken up by various jewellers. However manufacturers had remained steadfastly resistant to taking risks, so this remained an ideal rather than a reality. Innovative jewellers also create their own elitism. Despite this, there is little doubt that innovators have influenced the more commercial end of the jewellery market.
Jewellery for men
It was during the 60s that jewellery was no longer perceived as being solely for women. The fashion conscious man wore necklaces instead of neckties. He joined the ranks of hipster style revolutionaries like Richard Burton and The Earl of Snowdon. In the costume jewellery line there were necklaces for men with dangling disks, bells, abstract shapes, crosses with enamel and fake stones, zodiac symbols and the peace sign.
Pop Art
The bold geometric style of Pop art And Op art that flourished in the 60s quickly found its way into jewellery. Materials such as plastics, particularly Plexiglas (ICI Perspex) and vinyl were predominantly used in costume jewellery Paco Raban stamped chain mail shapes out of Perspex, while Charles Jourdan gave his shoes ice cube shaped high heels. Pop art embraced the highly varied imagery of popular culture. It was in essence anti functional and ephemeral, reflecting a new code of expendability. The Sixties fashion was for disposability. The paper and Perspex jewellery of Wendy Ramshaw of this period was very popular. She made cheap disposable paper jewellery that came in kit form. Much of it was printed with 60s ephemera such as Union Jacks, Phychedelia and Day Glo colours.
The style and Post Modernism
Today’s jewellers are again reflecting cultural trends, using the pluralism associated with Post Modern culture to widen their scope. The political aspects of jewellery have diminished. Decoration without and added meaning is acceptable again. A greater element of fun has also crept into body ornament. The Englishman Geoff Roberts, formerly a student of sculpture and printmaking, works with plastic and brightly coloured metal foil to produce deliberately cheap jewellery that is essentially a combination of fun and fantasy. The Swiss Otto Kunzli, who studied under Hermann Junger in Munich, uses a more satirical wit with such things as large three-dimensional brooches covered in "tasteless" wallpaper. In addition, fine artist Peter Chang has hit the headlines with his large, brightly coloured bangles in vacuum - formed plastic. Only time will tell if they will endure.
Ethnic revivals
During the 70s and 80s there was renewed interest in Asia and the Far East. This led to a return to natural materials such as bone, ivory and Indian Metalwork. Western jewellers were influenced by the varied assortment of goods being imported from Asia. Leather thonged jewellery hung with dyed feathers typified the ethnic style of the period.
British artist – jewellers
Artist – jewellers in Britain in the seventies gained two new means of by which to promote their work. One was the opening of an important retail outlet, Electrum in London. The other was the establishment of the Crafts Advisory Council. This was set up in 1971 to promote and develop the importance of British Crafts. Before this, jewellers had to rely on editorials in fashion magazines such as Honey, Vogue, Harpers and Queen to establish their work.
Australia
Australian jewellery design has benefited from the intimate collaboration between artist craftsmen on an international basis in recent years. Many European designers have travelled to Australia, conducting workshops and exhibiting their work. A number of innovative Australian designers have emerged from this initial contact, Helge Larsen, Peter Tully, Rowena Gough, Dirani Lewers and Jenny Toynbee, some of whom have trained in Germany, are foremost amongst them.
America
An important development for the artist jeweller in America was the opening of the specialist retail outlet, Sculpture to wear (later Artwear) in New York. Designers who exhibited at Artwear were constantly being approached by fashion designers for their work. American designers in the Seventies were less concerned than their European counterparts with traditional constraints. Designers drew on American Indian arty, assemblage art and expressionism. The criterion for having work included in the Artwear gallery was that "the artist pioneered the art of jewellery making, using materials in an unexpected and novel way".
That ideal sums up the new creative spirit that has entered jewellery design in the Twentieth century. Companies like Cartier, Asprey, Garrards and Tiffany are still producing time–honoured designs using precious metals and gemstones. Their pieces represent traditional values, which will always retain an importance, and they offer secure investment for the future. However, it is in the work of artist-jewellers such as those described in this essay that we find the expression of new ideas and new attitudes towards jewellery that have arisen during the course of this century. It is in this sphere of jewellery design that the boundaries of modern inventiveness and contemporary social comment will continue to be extended.
The art world in the 1940s and 50s was dominated by the American Abstract expressionists. Artists saw themselves as pioneers, liberating the world from the bonds of tradition. These ideas pervaded the whole world of art and design, and found expression in what were called Studio Crafts. This usually demanded a single individual being responsible for both designing and making unique hand made pieces.
In Germany and France the apprenticeship system remained strong, and the skills of the jewellery were respected as such. German colleges still teach rigorous technical courses as well as fine art. Many teachers are noted jewellers in their own right. Herman Jünger at the Munich Acadamie der bildenden künste, Fredrich Becker in Düsseldorf and Reinhold Reiling in Pforzhiem.
American work is characterised by its freedom from traditional restraint, the influence of the North and South American can be detected. The bold expressiveness can be seen in the work of many jewellers such as Robert Ebendorf, William Harper, Mary Lee Hu, Richard Mawdsley, Stanley Lechtzin, Earl Pardon and many more. Many of America’s leading jewellers are also teachers who pass on their experience and enthusiasm to new generations of artist jewellers.
With the breaking down of the traditional barriers between different art disciplines, an increasing number of jewellers have been presenting their work as art. In England, David Watkins of the Royal College or Art first trained as a jeweller and then turned to jewellery. His work has usually been exhibited in galleries with an artist’s eye and attitude guiding its considered presentation. David Courts and Bill Hackett work mainly to commission in precious materials. Their designs are characterised by a sleek sensuality, their themes often taken from unusual often-macabre aspects of nature: a frog’s skeleton or a crayfish for example.
Several German jewellers work was moving towards the ‘artistic’ in the early 1970s. They were known for their attention to detail, presented their work as ‘pictures’. Ulrike Bahrs and Norbert Murrie produced pictorial pieces that served either as jewellery or as graphical images. Gerd Rothman presented stickpins in a frame with a painted background. Gijs Bakker and Robert Smit from Holland and Claus Bury from Germany showed an affinity with conceptual art as they were just as much concerned with showing their ideas as showing a finished product.
New Concepts, New materials, new techniques
There was significant change in the fashions designed and worn by young people reflecting the boom years and the sexual revolution of the 1960s, which was taking place in the West. A notable English jeweller was Gerda Flockinger. Her work exhibited irreverence for the traditional treatment of metals. She melted the surface of her jewellery to exploit the natural texture that was created. She fused wire and shapes cut from sheet metal, setting semi precious stones into the finished form so that they appeared like intriguing decorative blisters. Patricia Tormey slammed molten gold between layers of textured charcoal and dropped it into a tray of lentils. In the mid-60s a small group of British jewellers Wendy Ramshaw, David Watkins and Caroline Broadhead, took a new interest in abstraction. In a brief return to the Bauhaus principles of design, they considered the relationship between form and function. His training as a sculptor inevitably influenced Watkins work. His jewellery pieces are architectonic in form, and stand independently as works of art.
One of the least heralded but important jewellers of the 60s and 70s is Stuart Devlin: silversmith, goldsmith, jeweller and sculptor, designer of coins, commemorative medallions, trophies, furniture, and interiors. Among his many accolades, Mr. Devlin holds a Royal Warrant and Appointment as Goldsmith and Jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen of England. In 1967, he began designing jewellery and, over the next decade, became well known in London's West End. In 1982, he was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment as Goldsmith and Jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen.
In Holland, traditionally trained jewellers Gijs Bakker and Emmy van Leersum turned the very notion of jewellery on its head when they experimented with simple forms that became both clothing and jewellery.
Austria is now beginning to establish its own style. Students began to experiment with jewellery as a mode of self-expression. Wolf Wennrick, Helge Larsen and Darani Lewers have been the key figures in this development, while Frank Bauer, Anne Bronsworth, Susan Cohn, Rowenta Gough, Peter Tully and Lyn Tune are just a few of the of the new generation of Austrian jewellers producing increasingly interesting results.
In the 1970s the Austrians, Pierre Degan, Fritz Maierhofer and the Englishman Roger Morris captured imagery from space hardware and microtechnology in jewellery. They used metal and coloured plastics in combination, with finishes that were reminiscent of machine made products.
The idealistic notion that "good" and innovative" design could be made available to all was taken up by various jewellers. However manufacturers had remained steadfastly resistant to taking risks, so this remained an ideal rather than a reality. Innovative jewellers also create their own elitism. Despite this, there is little doubt that innovators have influenced the more commercial end of the jewellery market.
Jewellery for men
It was during the 60s that jewellery was no longer perceived as being solely for women. The fashion conscious man wore necklaces instead of neckties. He joined the ranks of hipster style revolutionaries like Richard Burton and The Earl of Snowdon. In the costume jewellery line there were necklaces for men with dangling disks, bells, abstract shapes, crosses with enamel and fake stones, zodiac symbols and the peace sign.
Pop Art
The bold geometric style of Pop art And Op art that flourished in the 60s quickly found its way into jewellery. Materials such as plastics, particularly Plexiglas (ICI Perspex) and vinyl were predominantly used in costume jewellery Paco Raban stamped chain mail shapes out of Perspex, while Charles Jourdan gave his shoes ice cube shaped high heels. Pop art embraced the highly varied imagery of popular culture. It was in essence anti functional and ephemeral, reflecting a new code of expendability. The Sixties fashion was for disposability. The paper and Perspex jewellery of Wendy Ramshaw of this period was very popular. She made cheap disposable paper jewellery that came in kit form. Much of it was printed with 60s ephemera such as Union Jacks, Phychedelia and Day Glo colours.
The style and Post Modernism
Today’s jewellers are again reflecting cultural trends, using the pluralism associated with Post Modern culture to widen their scope. The political aspects of jewellery have diminished. Decoration without and added meaning is acceptable again. A greater element of fun has also crept into body ornament. The Englishman Geoff Roberts, formerly a student of sculpture and printmaking, works with plastic and brightly coloured metal foil to produce deliberately cheap jewellery that is essentially a combination of fun and fantasy. The Swiss Otto Kunzli, who studied under Hermann Junger in Munich, uses a more satirical wit with such things as large three-dimensional brooches covered in "tasteless" wallpaper. In addition, fine artist Peter Chang has hit the headlines with his large, brightly coloured bangles in vacuum - formed plastic. Only time will tell if they will endure.
Ethnic revivals
During the 70s and 80s there was renewed interest in Asia and the Far East. This led to a return to natural materials such as bone, ivory and Indian Metalwork. Western jewellers were influenced by the varied assortment of goods being imported from Asia. Leather thonged jewellery hung with dyed feathers typified the ethnic style of the period.
British artist – jewellers
Artist – jewellers in Britain in the seventies gained two new means of by which to promote their work. One was the opening of an important retail outlet, Electrum in London. The other was the establishment of the Crafts Advisory Council. This was set up in 1971 to promote and develop the importance of British Crafts. Before this, jewellers had to rely on editorials in fashion magazines such as Honey, Vogue, Harpers and Queen to establish their work.
Australia
Australian jewellery design has benefited from the intimate collaboration between artist craftsmen on an international basis in recent years. Many European designers have travelled to Australia, conducting workshops and exhibiting their work. A number of innovative Australian designers have emerged from this initial contact, Helge Larsen, Peter Tully, Rowena Gough, Dirani Lewers and Jenny Toynbee, some of whom have trained in Germany, are foremost amongst them.
America
An important development for the artist jeweller in America was the opening of the specialist retail outlet, Sculpture to wear (later Artwear) in New York. Designers who exhibited at Artwear were constantly being approached by fashion designers for their work. American designers in the Seventies were less concerned than their European counterparts with traditional constraints. Designers drew on American Indian arty, assemblage art and expressionism. The criterion for having work included in the Artwear gallery was that "the artist pioneered the art of jewellery making, using materials in an unexpected and novel way".
That ideal sums up the new creative spirit that has entered jewellery design in the Twentieth century. Companies like Cartier, Asprey, Garrards and Tiffany are still producing time–honoured designs using precious metals and gemstones. Their pieces represent traditional values, which will always retain an importance, and they offer secure investment for the future. However, it is in the work of artist-jewellers such as those described in this essay that we find the expression of new ideas and new attitudes towards jewellery that have arisen during the course of this century. It is in this sphere of jewellery design that the boundaries of modern inventiveness and contemporary social comment will continue to be extended.
© Richard Whitehouse