Glass Gardens Cask II; Tomb Jewel II
William Harper is a jewelry artist renowned for his workmanship in gold and the application of cloisonné enamel techniques in his brooches and necklaces. This box and enclosed brooch is an example of his more conceptual work, forming part of a series of "casks" containing brooches, or "tomb jewels" contained within. Harper was inspired by childhood trips to European cathedrals and his encounter with their treasuries. Here, he intends for the exterior surface of the container to appear rough and provisional, even threatening and dangerous to an extent–with the readymade nature of the box and use of found materials and fragments in marked contrast to the precious materials contained within–specifically, one of his gold brooches. The materials and techniques used in the box are suffused with historical references to other examples in the Museum’s collections, including cloisonné enamel; Kongo Nkisi power figures; and 20th century examples, such as the boxes of Joseph Cornell and Lucas Samaras.
Artwork Details
- Title: Glass Gardens Cask II; Tomb Jewel II
- Artist: William Harper (American, born Bucyrus, Ohio, 1944)
- Date: 1999
- Medium: Wood, leather, glass, plastic, shell, specimen butterfly, mixed media metals, cord, gold
- Dimensions: 2020.286a box: 7 1/2 in. × 7 1/2 in. × 6 in. (19.1 × 19.1 × 15.2 cm)
2020.286b jewel: 3 × 3 in. (7.6 × 7.6 cm)
2020.286a, b: 7.2 lb. (3.3 kg) - Classification: Jewelry
- Credit Line: Gift of William Benjamin-Harper, in honor of Beth Carver Wees, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.286a, b
- Rights and Reproduction: © William Harper
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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