The Evolution of Art Deco Style Jewelry
By Tony Wilner
Jewelry design during the Art Deco period was inspired by technological innovations in engineering, an artistic preference for something new, and widespread appreciation for various major cultural events and discoveries of the day. These events were, in part, what gave rise to the Art Deco or "Moderne" style (as it was known at that time) for jewelry design from the 1920s through the '40s, gradually replacing the sharply contrasted Art Nouveau style.
From ancient civilizations to contemporary society, jewelry has reflected a society's artistic tastes in form, function and cultural pride. Jewelry has also signified wealth, power and social status. Even as various styles gradually emerged and replaced former styles that fell out of fashion , the techniques of gemstone cutting and precious metal fabrication in use today can trace their roots to the ornamental jewelry made in ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, Persia, and the Far East.
Art Nouveau Jewelry
Art Nouveau, which evolved in the late Victorian period, premiered at the 1900 Exposition Universelle de Paris. At the 1925 International Exposition of Industrial and Decorative Arts, a more soothing streamlined alternative was introduced and readily accepted. Compared to Art Nouveau's sinuous, flowing lines and natural motifs, Art Deco emphasized linearity and geometric form.
One way to recognize and appreciate Art Deco jewelry is to compare and contrast it to Art Nouveau pieces. Art Nouveau is characterized by serpentine, curvaceous lines more commonly found in nature, drawing elements from the Victorian style, while Art Deco was influenced by the German Bauhaus School of Design.
The selection of motifs accentuated the form in each style. Art Nouveau designers chose flora and fauna motifs, which included trees, flowers, animals, and insects. Spiders and dragonflies were particularly popular. (The latter was often designed with a woman's body.) Art Deco artisans preferred a more symmetrical arrangement of geometric shapes in a repeated design, and often used pyramids and stepped ziggurats. Even within the use of animal and flower motifs, subtle differences between the styles become evident. Art Nouveau jewelry is characterized by the depiction of irises, lilies, and orchids; while Art Deco shows more roses and camellias, and also baskets of flowers and fruit, which were rendered in the geometric Cubist form. In later Art Deco pieces, jewelers chose panthers, tigers, antelopes, gazelles, birds, cats, and greyhounds as subjects. Figures of leaping gazelles and racing greyhounds conveyed a sense of speed and power, emphasizing the recent technological accomplishments in aviation and automotive engineering.
Art Deco Jewelry
Compared to Art Deco, Art Nouveau jewelry was much more simplistic in terms of construction design, using common methods of fastening and hinging, and flexible attached parts. Art Deco designs could be quite intricate, reflecting the technological achievements in industrial design during the Machine Age (late 1920s through the 1940s.) For example, Cartier's "mystery clocks," introduced in 1927, hid the mechanical movement so that the hands appeared to float on the clock's clear face while actually rotated by two glass discs. In 1934, Cartier designed a flexible "gas-pipe" style of gold necklace. The following year, Boucheron showcased a "moving staircase" bracelet, made of links of emeralds and platinum arranged in stepped heights, formed like the teeth of a gear mechanism.
The plastic material, Bakelite, invented in 1909 by Dr. Leo Baekeland of Belgium, was chief among the most innovative applications of industrial technology to jewelry design. Bakelite, which became the trademark name for a group of thermosetting plastics with chemical and electrical resistance, had a molecular polymer structure that can only be molded once. (That is, after it is molded by thermal means, it cannot be reconstituted or reformed into something else.) At the time, Bakelite was used in many manufactured items, such as telephones and small appliances. Because Bakelite could be easily molded into small components and could be colored, it lent itself well to jewelry Fabrication, particularly rings and bracelets, and offered a unique alternative to expensive gemstone jewelry. Varieties of amber color were most commonly used, but also black, white, and shades of red and green can be found in Bakelite jewelry from this period.
The Egyptian style was among the most popular jewelry designs to emerge from the Art Deco period. The discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb by British archeologist, Dr. Howard Carter, in 1922, had sparked widespread fascination with Egyptian culture. Various artifacts from King Tut's tomb were reproduced into highly sought after jewelry pieces. (It should be noted, however, that Egyptian motifs—snakes, lotuses, papyrus reeds and temple pylons-had been used well before this time, following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and the Franco-Egyptian Exhibition at the Louvre in 1911.) Among specific Art Deco design motifs that were directly inspired from King Tut's tomb were blue faience (glazed ceramic) scarabs, amulets, and face masks of King Tut.
Parisian jewelers capitalized on the public's fascination with Egyptology. Van Cleef and Arpels, for example, set tiny Egyptian figures in colored stones into a diamond background. Cartier designed a temple clock in 1927 of mother-of-pearl, lapis lazuli, red coral, and enameled gold. This piece is believed to have been inspired by an engraving of the gate of the Temple of Khons at Karnak.
Many jewelry artists and designers during the Art Deco period were noted for their particular media or style. Lalique specialized in opalescent glass. Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels concentrated in platinum, diamond and colored stone pieces. Erté is known for his highly stylized figures adorned in hair jewelry of jade and pearls; and the couturier, Chanel, introduced costume jewelry (use of glass and semi precious stones), sometimes set in her woolen chemises, for everyday wear.
Since economics will always dictate the design, the impact of the Wall Street crisis of 1929 in both America and Europe compelled jewelers to diversify their precious gemstone and metal production with alternate materials that were less expensive and could attract a wider and less affluent audience.
During the 1930s, following a few years of economic recovery, "white jewelry," composed almost solely of diamonds and platinum, became widely popular in jewelry circles. This style made its debut at the 1929 Exhibition at the Palais Galliera in Paris. Bracelets were commonly designed with round brilliants and baguettes pave set (pronounced "pay-VAY"), which describes the method of setting stones so close together that they actually appear to be "paved" into the metal in segments of either parallel lines, D- and S-shaped forms, or squares of octagons, linking segments together.
Although white jewelry dominated the jewelry market of the 1930s, jewelers continued to produce colored stone or polychromatic jewelry. The popularity of polychromatic jewelry was accentuated by the cultural panorama of the French colonies, from West Africa to Indo-China, displayed at the Colonial Exhibition in Paris in 1931.
White jewelry from Cartier (1940s).
Jewelry design of the '30s was influenced by several factors: the development of communications which brought people together; travel by Europeans to India, Persia, and the Orient to experience and appreciate the arts and culture of these regions; and the visits by maharajahs to European cities. The latter often resulted in commemorative pieces designating official visits. Items made in Hindu-style motifs for these clients usually incorporated large cabochon cut (round polished dome surface), carved, or engraved emeralds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, diamonds, gold, and silk cord with gold tassels.
Art Deco-style jewelry has its origins in a variety of sources—scientific, artistic, and cultural. It evolved as a response to the desire for something different—just as clothing fashion does—and reflected the current taste, trends, and interests of the public. It should be noted that periods of style do not abruptly end in one year, and begin in the next, without some overlap and gradual transition. For example, although the Victorian and Art Nouveau styles were quite similar, the Victorian period was waning by the late 1890's, whereas, Art Nouveau is credited to beginning around 1900 in Paris. Yet the sharply contrasted, highly simplified, and short-lived Arts and Crafts Movement also coexisted during the turn of the last century. Some simple Art Deco motifs can be found on pieces preceding 1925, the year of the International Exposition in Paris, which was originally scheduled for 1915, but delayed because of World War 1.
As technology advanced and more people traveled abroad to discover foreign lands, these developments and influences were chronicled in the jewelry design of the 1920s and 1930s. The discovery of King Tut's tomb, for instance, renewed fascination with all things Egyptian, which was reflected in jewelry design. In contrast to the Art Nouveau period, which was largely devoid of airplane and automobile travel, the Art Deco period commemorated these two modes of transport as they became more popular, in representational motifs in brooches, pendants, and other items. Even a plastic material from the mass manufacturing industry found its way into jewelry fabrication. All of these scientific, artistic, and cultural sources of inspiration gave Art Deco jewelry, whether made from high impact plastic in a lab or with precious gemstones in a Parisian jewelry house, a seemingly perfect synthesis of simplistic elegance.
About the Author
Tony Wilner is the Deputy Chairperson of the ADSW Preservation Committee. He has been involved in jewelry fabrication and lapidary arts for more then 20 years, and teaches a class in classic gemstone cutting through the Patuxent Lapidary Guild.
For More Information
For more information about Art Deco jewelry, consult Cartier: 1900-1939 by Judy Rudoe (Harry N. Abrams, 1997). You can find it in local libraries and bookstores. You can also buy it on-line from Amazon.com Books.
ADSW offers this book in association with Amazon.com Books and receives a small commission on sales referred to them.
Comments
Created Friday, November 14, 2003; Modified Thursday, November 17, 2005.
