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TASKS AGM and LECTURE: Decadence and Dreams: Jewellery from around 1900
The Annual General Meeting Society’s of The Arts Society Kennet and Swindon (TASKS) will take place
The lecture: Decadence and Dreams: Jewellery from around 1900
The decades around 1900 witnessed a fascinating variety of styles and produced some of the most elegant pieces of jewellery ever made.
Diamonds and pearls – the mainstay of European court jewellery – were arranged in garlands and ribbon bows of incredible delicacy.
At the same time this symmetry was challenged by the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau, and the ‘one colour theory’ long practised in European jewellery was undermined by a fascination with unusual gemstones and a more luxuriant sense of colour.
The lecture will explore the distinctive styles of great jewellers such as Cartier, Fabergé, Tiffany and Lalique, and examine also the contribution of Britain’s Arts and Crafts Movement with its celebration of traditional craftsmanship, unfaceted stones and hand-beaten metals.
The lecturer: Clare Phillips has a MA in the History of Design from the Royal College of Art, 1989. She is curator specialising in the history of jewellery, based in the Department of Metalwork, Silver and Jewellery at the V&A
We are always very happy to welcome visitors to our lectures
