Necklace
Frank Gardner Hale
(American, 1876–1945)
early 20th century
Medium/TechniqueGold, enamel, emerald, jade
DimensionsLender accessory: 4.4 × 14.6 cm (1 3/4 × 5 3/4 in.)
Length (lender accessory): 40.6 cm (16 in.)
Length (lender accessory): 40.6 cm (16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Accession number2020.393
On View
Not on viewClassificationsJewelry / Adornment
DescriptionFrank Gardner Hale, a nationally-recognized jewelry maker and enamellist, lived and worked in Boston in the early 20th century. His career exemplifies the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement, which combined the tenants of design reform and social reform. Arts and Crafts proponents cared as much about how an object was made and by whom, as they did about its style. They promoted the honest work of individual craftspeople, like Hale. The work of Hale and his contemporaries was highlighted in the 2018 MFA publication Arts and Crafts Jewelry: Frank Gardner Hale and His Circle, which accompanied the exhibition “Boston Made: Arts and Crafts Jewelry and Metalwork” (Kaplan Gallery, November 17, 2018—January 4, 2020). The offered necklace was prominently featured in both the publication and the exhibition. This extraordinarily long necklace highlights two carved Chinese jades surrounded by Hale’s delicate gold and enamel work. Hale believed that the stone (in this case the jades) should dictate the shape and harmonious style of the setting surrounding it. This remarkable necklace retains its original fabric-covered box, also made and labeled by Hale.
ProvenanceAcquired from the artist by Irma Endres Diescher Messler (b. 1887 - d. 1967), North East, Erie, PA; by descent within the family. September 15, 2015, anonymous (Fine Jewelry) sale, Skinner Auctions, Boston, lot 120, to Deedee and Barrie A. Wigmore, New York; 2020, gift of the Wigmores to the MFA. (accession date: December 16, 2020)
Copyright(Not provided)
