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Artist Modern Sculptural SterlingSilverWire Script Letter H or Acrobat Pendant

About the Item

Like Alexander Calder's handmade wire jewelry since 1929, whose smallest one-of-a-kind sculptural subjects ranged from aerial acrobats and dancers to monograms with letters representing a friend, this modern minimal sterling-silver wire pendant was uniquely shaped to form both kinds of imagery with a pliers by such a talented artist. A photo shows the pendant hanging from one point (necklace not included) that appears to represent the head of a leaping dancer with fully extended arms and legs. Further like figurative wire sculptures by Calder, one tightly curled end suggests that it is a male acrobat. The other end approximates a torso-sized circle to give the impression of him jumping over a ring or ball. Another photo reveals that the pendant can look completely different when hung from a second point as the capital letter "H" in curly script, which further resembles some un-hammered wire jewelry by Alexander Calder between 1929-1950. Given the duality of the male acrobat/dancer and letter "H", we think it would have been an ideal gift for Calder's close friend the graphic designer, photographer and filmmaker Herbert Matter (1907-1984). Significantly, he documented one of Calder's spectacular performances animating wire acrobat sculptures on an aerial set for his legendary circus-themed work Tightrope (1936). Later, Cahiers D'Art and the Calder Foundation published more than 300 mostly black-and-white photos that Matter took of Calder in his working environments and with his family in the hardcover book, Calder by Matter. At least we know that Calder made silver-wire jewelry for Matter's wife Mercedes. In c.1940s photos by Matter, the Foundation discovered her modeling hammered jewelry along with artist Lee Krasner. While the ingenious double-meaning of the unsigned pendant strongly suggests that it could have been made by American Calder (1898-1976), the younger American wire-spiraling metalsmith Art Smith was also inspired by dancers and beginning in the 1940s fashioned small pendants in such concise undulating shapes. As there is no significant provenance for this piece that was acquired from a secondary-owner near Dallas, who was unfamiliar with both artists, we encourage the collector to seek worthwhile attribution from an artist foundation, which could solidify or increase its value. Of note regarding our acquisition in Texas, while Matter was a Yale University professor, the Swiss-born American creative frequently traveled to that state for about a decade until 1968 when he was also a design consultant for the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. As recently sold works by Calder dramatically exceed those of Smith, we have attractively priced the pendant at around half of a sale of another minimal undulating wire design by the latter, which soared past the high estimate of $5,000 for Smith's brass choker to realize $23,400 in May 2021. More sale records have been set since then for the jewelry of both artists.
  • Metal:
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 1.97 in (50 mm)Width: 1.58 in (40 mm)
  • Style:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1929-1976
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Chicago, IL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3244218255862
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