Object Details
Artist
Merry Renk, born Trenton, NJ 1921
Luce Center Label
Bangles reflects Merry Renk’s taste for pearls and 14-karat yellow gold, and her preference, in the 1960s, for heavily encrusted surfaces. The “bangles” of hanging gold and Biwa pearls that only the wearer can see express the artist’s idea that the wearer completes the jewelry through her experience of it. The bangles and pearls become a secret pleasure for her alone.
Luce Object Quote
“After the functional aspect, the object itself must have a feeling of rightness. There must be a kind of intensity to it.” Artist quoted in Craft Horizons, November/December 1961
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Joan Watkins
Date
ca. 1967
Object number
1993.78.5
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Decorative Arts-Jewelry
Crafts
Medium
sawn, fused, and soldered 14k gold with biwa pearls
Dimensions
1 1/4 x 5/8 x 5/8 in. (3.2 x 1.7 x 1.7 cm.)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Renwick Gallery
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Dress\accessory\jewelry
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1993.78.5