Charmed bracelet

The charm bracelet is an autobiographical ornament. Typically assembled over time, charms are collected as tokens of remembrance – souvenirs – intended to memorialize vacations, anniversaries, and celebratory moments in one’s life. In that spirit, to mark the twentieth anniversary of Sienna Patti's gallery in Lenox, Massachusetts, 79 artists were invited to each craft two charms. The impressive roster includes artists that Sienna has worked with over the last two decades. The roster of artists who made charms for this project ranges from icons like the Italian artist Giampaolo Babetto to rising stars such as Mallory Weston who was recently appointed Professor in the metals department at Philadelphia’s Tyler School of Art. One of each pair will be included in an anniversary exhibition at Sienna Gallery, while this oversized charm bracelet, complete with 79 charms, enters the MFA's permanent collection and becomes part of a collection that spans the globe and more than 6,000 years of jewelry history.

This bracelet, titled Charmed, relates to the collection and the collection goals in a variety of ways. While this doesn’t fully represent the work of any one artist, it is a stellar example of artistic collaboration. It builds upon both historic and contemporary works already in the collection and adds dozens of works by women artists. In addition, it joins other charms bracelets – such as a bracelet with football-themed charms (2018.4224) made around 1935, a silver bracelet with WWII-related charms (2011.145), a version with round disks by Miyé Matsukata (2014.1230), and the Black Charm Bracelet by Robin Quigley (2006.441) – already in the collection. And, connects to the MFA's significant collection of jewelry that is either a token of affection and remembrance, such as lover’s eyes brooches and mourning jewelry. With so many artists represented, there are charms reflect a who’s-who of contemporary jewelry artists, with some by artists whose work is already part of the Collection like Babetto, Jamie Bennett, Helen Britton, and others, as well as artists whose work we aspire to add, like Weston, Susie Gansch, Märta Mattsson, and Carina Soshtary.