Currently on view at Forbes Galleries, “International Art Jewelry 1895-1925” is an expansive look at the emergence of art jewelry in the late 19th century. A time of radical innovation, the end of the Victorian age found artists the world over eager to spearhead a new design aesthetic. Jewelry makers, like other artists, found themselves pushing the boundaries of imagination to create pieces entirely new, like the stunning pendant above.
The exhibition features an impressively wide range of objects, revealing how the political and social landscapes of the artisans’ lives merged with their own inventiveness and evoloving techniques to create works that are completely fresh, and yet, alive with history. “International Art Jewelry 1895-1925” runs through March 17, 2012 and is located in the Jewelry Gallery of the Forbes Galleries on the lobby level of the Forbes building.