Pendant,any ideas ?

Hi all. I had posted this on the finds board,but I thought Id single it out here to see if it could get a little more attention. The pearl is real,the little bead test gold,and its been suggested the reddish bead might be coral. I don't know why,but Ive got Calder (or the like) stuck in my head,probably wishful thinking ! LOL ! Any ideas ? No marks anywhere...

 

Wishful thinking, but he did make some really nice jewelry. This is too craft show for him. That big orange bead could be coral if the gold and pearls are real. These are his. I'll take any of them for Christmas, please. http://calder.org/work/by-category/jewelry

 

A man can dream,cant he ? lol !

 

It's too new for him too, on second glance. This is high end 80s craft show merch.

 

This is Calder's avant garde Cumberland home and workshop, Calder Hall.


After his death in 1976 the towers that Calder used for testing large mobiles in fell into disrepair and fell down.


The official reason was 'mice' which was generally considered reasonable, but some locals attribute it to schoolboy vandalism, so common in the more boring parts of Cumbria.

 

AF, I have literally LOL'd several times reading your posts today! You should have a talk (chat) show!

 

Quite often the urge to take an absurd idea and run with it to see where it goes just overcomes me.

 

And we appreciate it !

 

I have several silversmith/jewelry making books from the 1950s and 1960s and this does look like the kind of work they were making then. It's hard to say from a photo. I'd look for wear, marks and techniques, for a more definitive answer.

Design wise, there was a resurgence of this type of jewelry in the early 1980s, as evely notes, taking off on the Memphis design but using those old wire work techniques. Most of the 80s stuff I've seen was done in sterling, though. And the 80s designer was more likely to add a different shape other than the sphere, like a cube or triangle cut out. The mid-century work tended to be more copasetic, as far as repeating shapes, relying on color, texture and size for variation.

I don't know how to explain it, but the overall design is a little boxed in, reminding me of a Joseph Cornell, and that also makes it look like an earlier piece from the late 1950s to mid 1960s. The 80s pieces tended to be more exuberant and nutty even, like the house in Ruthless People (1986)

 

Fascinating ! Thank you so much,at least now I have an idea to work off of. There are no markings that I could find,and it doesn't look sterling. it was the mix of humble and fine that intrigued me initially.

 

What I see on your piece is wire work,no soldering,very simple technique. Here is a site for beginners doing this type of work Pretty cool to not have to solder,do an acid bath etc.

http://wellingtonboot.hubpages.com/...iques-tutorials-how-to-wire-sheet-metal-stamp


I just took a pick of this sterling spacer but with 5 holes instead of your 4. Yours could be sterling ?

 

Could be. If it's hand made it probably is; nickel is tougher than silver.

 

Intriguing ! The more I look at it,it could very well be sterling . Thank you all so much for your help,if nothing else,its fun to learn.

 

After a second look, that second bar is definitely sterling; it's hallmarked. Turn it 90 degrees and you'll see "ster" stamped right on it.

 

AF - you make my day. Don't ever stop posting.