This necklace is made of silver, covered with dense, overlapping rows of hammered, flattened feather-like steel nails. There is a row of small, gold pod forms along inner edge, and for the clasp, it is large and covered by roughly square pale rose mother-of-pearl with gold fastenings. Although made of metal, the necklace gives the appearance of dark, slender feathers, with the inner collar dense with dark gold clasps, where the pods and steel nails are attached.

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See more objects with the tag illusionistic, gold, women's fashion accessories, mother of pearl, organic, personal adornment, women, adornment, traditional, metal, accessories, jewelry, radial, texture, biomorphic, movement, unexpected shapes, hammered.

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Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
1983	Work on this object began.
1984	We acquired this object.
2013	This was an Object of the Day.
2015	We photographed this object.
2018	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Necklace (Norway)

This is a necklace. It was designed by Tone Vigeland. It is dated 1983 and we acquired it in 1984. Its medium is steel, gold, silver, mother-of-pearl. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Norwegian artist Vigeland, who started her own workshop in 1962, produces jewelry and metal-based clothing. This ruff-like necklace is composed of a silver chainmail form covered by overlapping rows of steel nails, flattened to give them the appearance of feathers. The hammered nails are overlapped by a row of gold pendants, also fastened to the underlying chainmail. The clasp is covered by gold-fitted mother-of-pearl, lending the hardware store-bought nails further elegance.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled No Breeze Will Ruffle These Feathers.

It is credited Museum purchase from Decorative Arts Association Acquisition Funds and General Acquisition Endowment.

Man's Hat (ashetu) (Cameroon)
cotton, wood.
Museum purchase through gift of Mrs. William Goulding.
2003-3-1

Hair Ornament (China)
kingfisher feathers, lacquer, silk-covered wire.
Gift of William Dangaix Allen.
1939-73-11

A brown lanyard tied to a cooper cagework made of small black thorns glued together in an irregular pattern. The interior of the cagework is composed of an amber-colored center and pinkish translucent circular glass mass.

Necklace
glass, bent, flattened, and welded copper wire, leather.
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-28

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

Hot Bed Brooch And Case
silver, carved wood fragment, coral (brooch); handmade paper (box).
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-72-a,b

Handmade off-white thick paper strips strung together creating an accordian effect, made from pieces off repeating thickness. The necklace is laid out as a large oval shape. The bottom portion of the necklace has various sized strips, causing a raised effect

Mitla Necklace
handmade paper.
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-101

A necklace consisting of handmade, rectangular, stacked paper strips. At the top of the neck the paper strips are beige, moving to crimson, and then to dark brown where the necklace sits on the chest. The necklace is displayed on a dark grey rectangular stand.

Ojo de Agua Necklace
handmade paper.
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-100

Its dimensions are

H x W (clasped): 21 × 23 cm (8 1/4 × 9 1/16 in.)

Cite this object as

Necklace (Norway); Designed by Tone Vigeland (Norwegian, b. 1938); steel, gold, silver, mother-of-pearl; H x W (clasped): 21 × 23 cm (8 1/4 × 9 1/16 in.); Museum purchase from Decorative Arts Association Acquisition Funds and General Acquisition Endowment; 1984-83-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Rebeca Méndez Selects.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2Enr2/
Accession Number 1984-83-1
Object ID 18802847