Click here to see examples of jewelry shown at our annual exhibition & sale
Exhibition
Dates
BESSIE JAMIESON ANNUAL EXHIBITION
The Jewelry Arts Institute's Director, Bessie Jamieson,
will be having her twenty-ninth annual show at Davis and
Langdale Gallery in late fall 2008.
For dates or further information, please call:
Davis and Langdale Gallery
231 East 60th Street, New York NY 10022
(212) 838-0333
CLASSICAL JEWELRY SALE AND EXHIBITION
Works in Pure Silver and High-Karat Gold Recall the Artistry of the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Etruscans
Our annual sale and exhibition of works by classically-trained goldsmiths will take place in early December. Jewelry on view by the instructors of the Jewelry Arts Institute, the first school in the country to specialize in classical goldsmithing, will include Byzantine-type enamels or cloisonné, classical hand-woven chains, cabochon and other lapidary settings, and granulation.
The works on view (and offered for sale) are made by hand, using high-karat gold or pure silver. Many pieces are set with semi-precious or precious stones. Prices range from about $400 to about $5,000. Some of the goldsmiths, although classically trained, apply a more modernist sensibility to their work.
Ancient jewelry was a paramount art form of the classical world, with aesthetic and monetary value equal to that of painting, sculpture, and architecture. In Greece and Rome, among the Etruscans, and throughout Byzantium, craftsmen used high-karat gold, a variety of stones, and a small but masterful repertoire of techniques to create works of personal adornment that have never been equaled artistically. Ancient works of this caliber can be found in museums or private collections, but the techniques and methods of the jewelers of antiquity had all but disappeared.
The Jewelry Arts Institute, the oldest studio workshop of its kind (and the original source of instruction of this type), has specialized in teaching classical jewelry making since 1974. Founded as the Kulicke-Stark Academy, the Jewelry Arts Institute fosters research, apprenticeships, and hands-on instruction in the techniques of the ancient artist-jewelers. Through small classes, apprenticeships, and project-based learning, students acquire, over time, the skills to make exquisite works of jewelry based on models from antiquity, as well as a deeper understanding of and appreciation for these classical works. Students at all levels – beginner to advanced – produce pieces that are worn, admired, and cherished.
Bessie Jamieson, the Director of Jewelry Arts Institute says, "The finger rings, bracelets, woven chains, and pendants of the classical era represent the highest achievement of the artist-jeweler. Migrating cultures carried these techniques throughout ancient Greece and Rome , to Byzantium , to medieval Europe. Then, with the Industrial Revolution, the time-honored tradition of making jewelry entirely by hand began to disappear."
Ms. Jamieson, a Vassar graduate, began making jewelry in the early 1970s. In addition to running the Jewelry Arts Institute, Ms. Jamieson exhibits her work in art galleries in New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco .
Ms. Jamieson continues, "Many contemporary jewelers who are known for their classical work, studied at Kulicke-Stark or the Jewelry Arts Institute. As our students have migrated throughout the city and across the country, classical jewelry has experienced a renaissance."
For more information about the sale, or about classes at the Jewelry Arts Institute, the public may call (212) 362-8633.