Origins & Legacy of Art Jewellery in South Africa
Timed Online Auction, 6 - 22 October 2025
Legacy
About the SessionLegacy, showcases 16 contemporary practitioners whose work reflects the movement’s enduring spirit of experimentation. Like their predecessors, these art jewellers often work with non-precious materials, producing pieces that are expressive, sculptural and conceptually adventurous. Through these wearable artworks, the artists employ art jewellery as a critical medium to reflect upon, comment on, and challenge the world around them, exploring questions of identity, place, social standing, cultural practices, and political viewpoints.
About this Item
Notes
Marlene de Beer harnesses the expressive potential of non-precious materials such as porcelain, glass (including vitreous enamel), and sisal, creating a phenomenological response to her lived experiences. Her porcelain neckpieces, incorporating indigenous thorns collected from local trails, embody contrasts of fragility and strength, evoking themes of protection, suffering, and belonging.
- Marlene de Beer