Feast Bracelet

Richard Mawdsley, Feast Bracelet, 1974, sterling silver, jade, and pearls, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Lloyd E. Herman, director emeritus, Renwick Gallery, 1983.52
Richard Mawdsley, Feast Bracelet, 1974, sterling silver, jade, and pearls, 3 3⁄4 x 2 3⁄4 x 4 1⁄2 in. (9.6 x 7.0 x 11.5 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
Artist
Date
1974
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3 3⁄4 x 2 3⁄4 x 4 1⁄2 in. (9.6 x 7.0 x 11.5 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
Subjects
  • Still life — other — flatware
  • Still life — other — dish
  • Still life — foodstuff — pie
  • Still life — vegetable — artichoke
  • Still life — foodstuff — beverage
Object Number
1983.52
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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.

Works by this artist (2 items)

Image Not Available
Corsage #3 Pendant
Artist
Date1987-1989
sterling silver, 18k gold, black onyx, enamel on copper
Not on view
Richard Mawdsley, Feast Bracelet, 1974, sterling silver, jade, and pearls, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Lloyd E. Herman, director emeritus, Renwick Gallery, 1983.52
Feast Bracelet
Artist
Date1974
sterling silver, jade, and pearls
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
November 13, 2015–March 6, 2022
Renwick Gallery
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.

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Artist
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Chalice
Artist
Date1995
fine and sterling silver, 24k gold plate, 24k gold foil, garnets, pearls, turquoise, hematite, tiger's eye, filigree wire, and plique-a-jour on Thompson and Blythe enamels
Not on view