Pair of Earrings

Artist Harry Bertoia (American, 1915-1978)

Dateabout 1948

Dimensions(Part A) H: 2 15/16 in. (7.5 cm); W: 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm);
(Part B) H: 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm); W: 2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm)

MediumBrass; drilled, assembled, and hammered.

ClassificationJewelry

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by Rita Barbour Kern

Object number

2005.5A-B

Not on View

DescriptionThe pair of hoop earrings is each constructed of four brass hoops of increasing size. The hoops are made of brass wire passed through a row of four small drill holes in a narrow strip of brass. Bent into concentric circles whose ends do not meet and do not overlap, they were then hammered flat on a slightly marred surface, picking up scars and imperfections in relief on one side and scratches from the hammering tool in intaglio on the other. The brass hoops have a natural oxidation patina. The two gold-plated suspension "fish-hooks" are modern replacements.

Label TextSculptor/designer Harry Bertoia was educated at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a school that integrates art, craft, and industrial design. Bertoia’s whimsical brass jewelry often reflected his interest in kinetic sculpture.Published ReferencesCf. Marbeth Schon, Modernist jewelry 1930-1960. The Wearable Art Movement. Schiffer, 2004, (ill.) p. 21 (here valued at $ 1,500 - $ 2,000). Toni Greenbaum and Martin Eidelberg, Messengers of Modernism, Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, 1996, pp 56-57, ill. p. 8. Toni Greenbaum, "Tea and Jewelry. Modernist Metalsmithing in San Diego, 1940-1970," Metalsmith, Summer 2002, ill. p. 27 (pair in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts ?). Susan J. Montgomery, "The sound and the surface. The metalwork and jewelry of Harry Bertoia," Metalsmith, Summer 1987, pp. 23-29.