Floating City

Copied Kent Raible, Floating City, 1996, 18K gold, chalcedony, chrome tourmaline, sapphires, amethysts and diamonds , 10 1⁄4 x 5 3⁄8 x 1 in. (26.1 x 13.7 x 2.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance, 1996.37

Artwork Details

Title
Floating City
Artist
Date
1996
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
10 1⁄4 x 5 3⁄8 x 1 in. (26.1 x 13.7 x 2.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the James Renwick Alliance
Mediums
Mediums Description
18K gold, chalcedony, chrome tourmaline, sapphires, amethysts and diamonds
Classifications
Subjects
  • Dress — accessory — jewelry
  • Cityscape — imaginary
Object Number
1996.37
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1996.37

Artwork Description

Kent Raible considers his jewelry pieces to be "tiny sacred temples" with a gem as the focal point. Although the artist rarely makes such complicated pieces, the concept for Floating City developed over two years and is the result of the artist’s desire "to make a more elaborate city full of these sacred places." Here, Raible conceived a futuristic floating metropolis inspired by the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, by the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz, and the legend of Atlantis. The randomly spaced diamonds in the middle section denote the rooms in the city where no one is home. The disks resembling flying saucers are the landing docks for the floating city.