Feast Bracelet

Copied Richard Mawdsley, Feast Bracelet, 1974, sterling silver, jade, and pearls, 3 342 344 12 in. (9.67.011.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Lloyd E. Herman, director emeritus, Renwick Gallery, 1983.52

Artwork Details

Title
Feast Bracelet
Date
1974
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3 342 344 12 in. (9.67.011.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Lloyd E. Herman, director emeritus, Renwick Gallery
Mediums
Mediums Description
sterling silver, jade, and pearls
Classifications
Keywords
  • Still life — foodstuff — beverage
  • Still life — vegetable — artichoke
  • Still life — foodstuff — pie
  • Still life — other — dish
  • Still life — other — flatware
Object Number
1983.52

Artwork Description

Richard Mawdsley states that he likes jewelry because “fantasy comes off better on this scale.” Feast Bracelet is a miniature version of an extravagant dining spread, including fruit, silverware, and drinking chalices. Mawdsley based many of the objects in this piece on historical metalworks he saw in photographs and in museum collections. The feast-laden table also refers to seventeenth-century Dutch still-life paintings. Creating a “feast for the eyes,” Mawdsley probably intended this piece as an homage to masterpieces of painting and metalwork.

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
November 13, 2015March 6, 2022
Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.