The Glitter and the Gold: Jewelry from the Newark Museum
WHEN: Ongoing
WHERE: The Lore Ross Jewelry Gallery, Ballantine House, The Newark Museum, 49 Washington Street, Newark
The Glitter & The Gold: Jewelry From the Newark Museum showcases a broad cross-section of masterworks from the Museum’s extensive jewelry holdings, dating from the early 1700s to the present, including objects from Newark’s own historic jewelry industry.
One of the highlights of the inaugural display is a rare diamond aigrette ornament, designed in Europe in the 1740s to reflect the West’s fascination with the arts of India. Along with a diamond-encrusted beribboned dagger by Theodore B. Starr, and a dazzling art deco bracelet from the 1920s by J. E. Caldwell, visitors can see the evolution of the “all white” look in diamond jewelry over two centuries. More contemporary work in the exhibition includes a daring abstract silver necklace, designed by Henning Koppel for Georg Jensen in 1948; as well as a chic cuff bracelet of lacquered iron inlaid with gold, designed by Angela Cummings for Tiffany & Co. in 1978.
Newark’s output as a jewelry center is represented with an iconic piece known as the “Butterfly Lady” brooch. Designed in 1904 by Henry Blank & Co., the brooch is covered in translucent enamels and highlighted with small diamonds.
The Newark Museum is currently one of only four museums in the United States with gallery space dedicated to its permanent jewelry collections. Its large and diverse collection of European and American jewelry began in 1911 with the gift of a rare New York 18th-century gold pocket watch also on view.
This exhibition is located in The Lore Ross Jewelry Gallery on the second floor of the Museum’s historic 1885 Ballantine House. This new gallery was conceived as a personal tribute to the late Lore Ross, whose interest in jewelry and design was an abiding passion. A longtime member of the Museum’s Friends of Decorative Arts, Mrs. Ross left a generous bequest to the Museum during its centennial year in 2009.
Shop
Tibetan Bazaar opens May 8.
This festive Bazaar will feature traditional Tibetan arts and crafts, books on Tibetan art, culture and healing, hand woven Tibetan rugs, clothing, jewelry, furniture and decorative objects.
[Images: Brooch and pendant (detail, and full image above right), Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany for Tiffany & co., Made by Meta Overbeck, New York, NY, ca. 1918, Black opals, gold, enamel, Purchase 2005 Helen McMahon Brady Cutting Fund 2005.7.2a–c
Brooch in the form of a woman with butterfly wings (above left), Whiteside & Blank, Newark, NJ, ca. 1904, Gold, enamel, diamonds, Purchase 1993 The Millicent Fenwick Fund 93.76]
