If one excepts the jewelry he made as a child for his sister's dolls, Calder produced about fifteen hundred original pieces of jewelry in his lifetime. He never intended his jewelry to be mass-produced and often gave examples to relatives and friends on special occasions. Some, such as the Louisa Pin made for his wife, incorporate the name of their owner. Derived from his wire sculpture, Calder's jewelry is typically made of bent and twisted wire, usually of brass, silver, or gold. Some pieces include found objects, such as bits of bones, uncut stones, and glass. The remarkable variety of these works comes from the multiplicity of sources that inspired Calder, from African jewelry (Bracelet) to Brazilian good-luck charms (Figa Pin).
The finely detailed craftsmanship found in the jewelry is echoed in his small- and large-scale
works of the same period.
Copyright © 2008 National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC