Vintage Bracelet - Help!i,

Hi! I need help identifying this bracelet. Thanks!

Help identify by EmilyPret posted Jun 24, 2017 at 9:58 AM

 

Oh Emily, you really do need help. Maybe this will give you a start:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/posting-a-thread-and-uploading-pictures.15990/
And welcome to the forum of course.

 

maybe it's this.....I thought it was a ring.....
looks like a one off , artist made item....

 

Right, the gallery. I never look there.
Yes, it does look like a one off. Do you have some more pictures? Sides, back, maybe a mark? And please post them full image in this thread.

 

back by EmilyPret posted Jun 24, 2017 at 11:27 AM

Bracelet back by EmilyPret posted Jun 24, 2017 at 11:24 AM

 

"You do not have permission...yada yada" The security settings are keeping me out.

 

Ditto, but Emily has put them in the thread now.
And it does look like a one off artist piece.

 

Cool. 70s Brutalist?

 

Emily, Here's a tip for photographing. Always have the best light behind you i.e., shining on the item. The first photo fills the frame nicely, it's a good close-up, but is back-lit, which makes it hard to see exactly what the piece looks like or the construction, etc.

I agree that it is a one of a kind piece. A better photograph might show exactly what the stone is in front and a bit more hint as to if this was an experienced artisan or more of a hobbyist. If no signature may be very hard to nail down who made it.

 

Experienced artisan or experienced hobbyist .... there is little difference as both can make good products or junk.

 

I agree, a one-off piece by a studio artist. I've seen this style many times before, if not by the same person, at least close enough to pass as such.

This is the time of year for annual craft fairs. I'd suggest that if you have any near by, the best chance of identifying this might be to show photos to some of the jewelers participating. They often are familiar with the names and styles of fellow artists, and may be able to identify it for you.

Often art works show up on the market fairly close to where they were purchased. Well-established shows/fairs may attract artists from all over, but there is often a continuity from year to year, and artists may know fellow artists, especially in their own category.

 

Agreed. That's probably the best bet. I've seen a lot of similar ones and they're almost never signed. They're striking pieces.

 

Yeah, I have a large cuff bracelet around here somewhere that looks very similar.

 

Brutalist inspired, maybe.
Brutalist is where the material has it's 'natural' 'rough' (French: brut) shape. It is contrived of course, but there are hardly any real motifs. In the case of this bracelet the motifs are recognizable shapes, executed in a natural, rough look.
These are Brutalist:

 

I've seen a fair few of these. They're usually South African and made from recycled materials.

 

I can go with Brutalist Inspired LOL and the OP's piece definitely shows planned motif but here in CA that type of artisan work is usually categorized as Brutalist referring more to crudity or roughness as opposed to naturalness.

 

That's how Le Corbusier saw it - concrete in its raw unfinished state. It's about the material, not the shape. So you end up with these: http://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/brutalist-architecture

 

I understand that you're both being literal and historical with a European background. I'm only mentioning what the term has come to mean specifically regarding mid century modern jewelry here in CA and no question that the piece is not a purist brutalist work.

 

There was a Canadian brutalist named Guy or Giles Vidal (he used both) whose work I've sold a few times. I wouldn't call it pretty, but it's interesting. Brutalist gets tagged onto the tag end of modernist style, at least in jewelry.

 

Oh, I'm actually rather agreeing with you!