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.
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Notes
These works explore the Platonic concept of idealism by examining its influence on botanical imagery in Renaissance paintings and enamelled jewellery. The historical references provide both the conceptual and aesthetic foundation for contemporary enamelled jewellery. The process of idealisation observed in Renaissance art and jewellery is applied to South African botanical motifs, leading to a stylistic reinterpretation of Renaissance botanical forms.
The contemporary pieces reimagine the enamelling techniques, colours, styles, and motifs characteristic of Renaissance jewellery. By incorporating these historical design principles, the works illustrate how Renaissance ideals can shape and enhance contemporary jewellery practice, situating idealised botanical motifs within a South African visual and material context.
- Nina Newman
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