Origins & Legacy of Art Jewellery in South Africa
Timed Online Auction, 6 - 22 October 2025
Origins
About the SessionOrigins, explores the emergence of South African fine metal artistry through pioneering immigrant goldsmiths and jewellers such as Erich Frey, Peter Cullman, Margaret Richardson, Elsa Wongchowsky, Tessa Fleischer and Birger Haglund. Many were drawn to South Africa after the Second World War, seeking opportunities to establish workshops. Their training in European institutions, such as Pforzheim, equipped them with modernist principles and technical expertise. Their works embodied modernist aesthetics while adapting to local contexts. They experimented with form, texture, and materiality, linking jewellery to broader artistic movements.
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Notes
Birger Haglund was born in Sveg, Sweden. He trained as a goldsmith in Kristianstad and then joined Atelier Borgila in Stockholm where he honed his craft under rigorous conditions.
In 1948 he emigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he opened an atelier called Haglund. He crafted utensils, jewellery and liturgical objects, blending Scandanavian minimalist aesthetics with cross-cultural influences from around the globe.
In 1952 he returned to Sweden where he opened a company in Stockholm.
Later in his career he travelled for cultural and craft research, spending time in Afghanistan and the Caribbean. His works are represented in major collections around the world.
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