Past Is Present, Revival Jewelry: " Reviving and Reinterpreting Antique Styles For a New Age"

Past Is Present, Revival Jewelry: "Reviving and Reinterpreting Antique Styles For a New Age"

Revival Jewelry

Exploring more than 4,000 years of jewelry history, an exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), traces the long-standing tradition of drawing design inspiration from the past — whether by directly copying earlier styles or reinterpreting ancient motifs. Past Is Present: Revival Jewelry includes 80 objects by jewelers such as Castellani, Tiffany & Co., Cartier and Bulgari, ranging from antiquity to today and showing that the revivalist narrative did not end in the early 20th century.

In nearly every instance, the design of the ornament highlights the tension between progress and the desire to engage with the past, in both traditional and unexpected ways. Drawn largely from the Museum's collection and featuring 17 stunning loans from private collections, Past Is Present: Revival Jewelry is on view through August 19, 2018 in the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation Gallery. MFA members are the first to see the exhibition during Member Preview days, Saturday, February 11 through Monday, February 13.

"History fuels the creative imagination. The dazzling jewels in this exhibition were made by designers who found inspiration from the past — reviving and reinterpreting antique styles for a new age," said Emily Stoehrer, Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry. "Today, as technology continues to advance and life's pace continues to accelerate the traditions of the past, from ancient Egypt to the Renaissance, continue to provoke and inspire."

Revival jewelry became fashionable in the 19th century, as opportunities for travel increased; archaeological digs unearthed ancient treasures and newly founded museums (including the MFA) and international expositions showcased discoveries from antiquity. Surrounded by this history, jewelers were among the many artists who found inspiration in the myriad of freshly available visual resources, incorporating them into their work. While jewelry from the 19th and early 20th centuries explored many revival styles, the exhibition largely focuses on four: archaeological (inspired by newly excavated art and artifacts), as well as Renaissance, Egyptian and Classical. Additionally, contemporary pieces demonstrate how the revival jewelry tradition continues today as artists are once again drawn back in time, focusing on hands-on craftsmanship and the exploration of timeless themes that first presented themselves hundreds, or, in some cases, thousands of years ago.

Four loans from the Cartier Collection are a highlight of the exhibition. After the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922, Louis Cartier, like many other jewelers at the time, bolstered his collection of ancient artifacts and incorporated them into his work. A 1924 Scarab Brooch, which can be converted into a belt buckle, is paired with a Winged Scarab (740–660 BC) from the MFA’s collection. The 20th-century brooch features gold, platinum, and diamonds in addition to ancient faience (glazed ceramic) fragments; and the holes, meant to secure the Egyptian ornament to linen mummy wrappings, have been hidden behind emeralds. A Bracelet (1928) created for composer Cole Porter’s wife Linda integrates a replica of an ancient Eye of Horus — a protective amulet thought to have healing properties — offering another example of Cartier's celebrated Egyptian revival designs. The Head of Medusa Pendant (1906) and Chimera Bracelet (1929) set with diamonds, meanwhile, draw inspiration from ancient mythology.

Connections among travel, politics and nostalgia in 19th-century jewelry are explored through examples of pieces that would have been bought as mementos on the Grand Tour. Regarded as a rite of passage and a critical component of classical education, a trip across Europe was a luxury that could be drawn out for years. As travelers collected souvenirs along the way, cities became known for particular types of jewelry. A Coral Suite (1850s) from Naples comprises a necklace, earrings and brooch, featuring carved depictions of Bacchus — the ancient Roman god of wine — rams and female figures, surrounded by delicate gold leaves and grapes. Referencing classical life, imagery of jovial gods and goddesses appeared often in ornaments acquired in Italy, which was seen as the birthplace of modern civilization and the essential stop on the Grand Tour.

As 19th-century archaeologists unearthed ancient treasures from the Mediterranean world, nationalism was also sweeping through Europe. Both long-established and newly independent countries — and their jewelers — sought a national vernacular that evoked the glorious past. In England, designers like Charlotte Newman (known as Mrs. Philip Newman) explored Renaissance themes, as seen in her Cameo Necklace of Elizabeth I (about 1890). Carved by Georges Bissinger, the pendant shows a profile image of the 16th-century monarch, whose reign was often compared at the time with that of Queen Victoria.

Etruscan Revival Bracelet

Ernesto Pierret, Etruscan Revival Bracelet, Italian, About 1860. Gold. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

In Italy, amidst advocacy for unification, Castellani — the most famous jeweler in Rome at the time — established itself as the premier retailer of revival jewelry. The shop, founded in 1814 by Fortunato Pio Castellani, sold high-style imported jewelry from Paris until around 1850, when Castellani’s sons Alessandro and Augusto, who were outspoken in their desire for Italian unification, resolved to specialize in archaeological revival jewelry that celebrated the early gold work that was being excavated just outside Rome. One example is the gold Castellani Brooch (about 1858) that copies the design of an Etruscan original, excavated in 1836 from a tomb in Cerveteri, Italy and now part of the Campana Collection at the Louvre.

A selection of paintings in the exhibition, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Bocca Baciata (Lips That Have Been Kissed) (1859) and the recent acquisition Belcolore (1863), additionally illustrate fashions that were popular in 19th-century jewelry. Typical of the artist’s work of this period, they present close-up views of beautiful women adorned with ornaments. The necklace of gold rosettes in Bocca Baciata was inspired by ancient jewelry, exemplifying the archaeological impulse that was popular at the time.

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Past Is Present, Revival Jewelry: "Reviving and Reinterpreting Antique Styles For a New Age"

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