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Object Timeline

1986

  • Work on this object began.

2011

2014

2024

  • You found it!

Turret Pair Of Earrings

This is a pair of earrings. It was designed by Ted Muehling. It is dated 1986 and we acquired it in 2011. Its medium is oxidized sculpted bronze, bent gold wire. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Turret is a pair of spiral-form earrings by the American designer, Ted Muehling. Muehling, who is based in New York, is a versatile designer across media. Although primarily known for his jewelry designs, the museum also has examples of his glassware produced by the Lobmeyr firm and collaborated with the designer on the exhibition, Ted Muehling Selects: Lobmeyr Glass from the Permanent Collection.
These earrings exemplify Muehling’s approach to interpreting nature in a contemporary way. He will take a seemingly mundane natural form (like a seed, for example) and will render it in a way that emphasizes the beauty of the simple form. Some of his work elaborates a simple form into more complex design, such as, in this case, the suggestion of a spiral shell.

It is credited Gift of Susan M. Yecies.

Our curators have highlighted 4 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Bracelet
  • bent brass and silver wire.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-103
  • Double Cylinder Pendant Necklace
  • fabricated oxidized sterling silver, hand drilled and perforated yellow gold....
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-27
  • Angular Brooch
  • bent and flattened brass and copper wire.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-104

Its dimensions are

L x W x D (each earring): 5.7 x 1.8 x 1.6 cm (2 1/4 x 11/16 x 5/8 in.)

Cite this object as

Turret Pair Of Earrings; Designed by Ted Muehling (American, b. 1953); USA; oxidized sculpted bronze, bent gold wire; L x W x D (each earring): 5.7 x 1.8 x 1.6 cm (2 1/4 x 11/16 x 5/8 in.); Gift of Susan M. Yecies; 2011-19-1-a,b

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Making Design.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18788383/ |title=Turret Pair Of Earrings |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=20 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>