Les Amoreux neckpiece
Man Ray
(American, 1890–1976)
GEM Montebello
(active 1967–1978)
1975
Object PlaceMilan, Italy
Medium/Technique18 kt gold
DimensionsOverall: 14.6 x 13.7 x 2.2 cm (5 3/4 x 5 3/8 x 7/8 in.)
Credit LineThe Daphne Farago Collection
Accession number2017.4918
On View
Not on viewClassificationsJewelry / Adornment
Collections
Artist-designed jewelry differs from studio jewelry in that it is designed by an artist (with drawings and perhaps a model), but made by jewelry artisans in a workshop. Various twentieth-century painters and sculptors have turned their hands to designing and making jewelry, and their efforts lent prestige to the concept of "art to wear." The large floating lips in Man Ray's collage A L'heure de l'observatoire, les amoureux (1932-34) provided inspiration for the combination pendant and brooch of the same name.
ProvenanceMay 29, 2004, sold by Joan Sonnabend, Boston to Daphne Farago (b. 1924 - d. 2017), Little Compton, RI; 2017, bequest of Daphne Farago to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 14, 2017)CopyrightGianCarlo Montebello curator of the GEM MONTEBELLO Archives
