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2005

  • Work on this object began.

2016

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2024

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Brooch, 2005

This is a brooch. It was designed by Bettina Speckner. It is dated 2005 and we acquired it in 2016. Its medium is ferrotype (or "tintype"), silver, silver wire, rubies, markasite. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Speckner uses an old tintype portrait of a mysterious couple, taking them out of context and generating an emotional impact that is heightened by the seemingly random, but carefully calibrated overlays of precious gems. These added elements obscure rather than decorate the historical image, transforming it into a nuanced contemporary work.

This object was donated by Susan Lewin. It is credited The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

  • Brooch (USA)
  • tintype/ferrotype, gilded metal.
  • Gift of Anonymous Donor.
  • 1995-12-2

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 8.9 × 6 × 0.6 cm (3 1/2 × 2 3/8 × 1/4 in.)

It has the following markings

on reverse, bottom center: stamped with stylized tulip

Cite this object as

Brooch, 2005; Designed by Bettina Speckner (German, b. 1962); ferrotype (or "tintype"), silver, silver wire, rubies, markasite; H x W x D: 8.9 × 6 × 0.6 cm (3 1/2 × 2 3/8 × 1/4 in.); The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; 2016-34-106

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/874387547/ |title=Brooch, 2005 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=24 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>