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See more objects with the tag ovoid, figural, perforated, embroidered.

Object Timeline

1970	We photographed this object.
2007	Work on this object began.
2016	We acquired this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2017	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

The Mind in the Hand Brooch

This is a brooch. It was designed by Esther Knobel. It is dated 2007 and we acquired it in 2016. Its medium is silver embroidered with iron thread. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Knobel’s brooch depicts hands at work and captures the spirit that moves them. The process that Knobel invented to make this brooch involves embroidery of steel thread on a silver surface, an arduous process that is in itself a tribute to the value of dedication and skill.

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

A signed and editioned etching made from an embossed aluminum plate on thick white paper with hand torn, somewhat ragged edges. The etching is a lateral rectangle, with a light gray ground, positioned in the center of the thick white paper. It is divided into two halves by a dark vertical line, and shows scenes on either side of somewhat mirrored images of a standing figure with short hair, in a collared smock or work shirt with rolled up sleeves, arms extended and hands (one possibly holding a tool) atop materials, with an air of concentration, bending over a minimal work table, described by three straight intersecting lines. Faint lines within the etching’s border show the imprint of the etching plate. The figure and work table on the left side of the image are rendered in fluid realistic lines. The face of the figure and the scene on the right side also contain a variety of loosely drawn lines in hook, “s” and “v” shapes which overlay and alter the symmetry of the mirrored figures. The artists signature E. Knobel is inscribed in pencil on the paper beneath the left side of the etching. Edition number 3/8 is written in pencil on the paper just below the vertical black dividing line.

Print, The Mind in the Hand, 2006
etching from embossed aluminum plate on white wove paper, perforated and....
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-58

Mirror (England)
stamped and chased repoussé cast silver, mirrored plate glass,....
Gift of Mrs. Clarence Webster.
1914-45-1

Grand Prix Bouillon Spoon
stainless steel.
Gift of Peter Condu.
1992-25-4-p

Our curators have highlighted 1 object that are related to this one.

Embroidered Picture
silk embroidery, silk foundation, linen backing.
1975-86-11

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 6.5 × 7.5 × 1 cm (2 9/16 × 2 15/16 × 3/8 in.)

It has the following markings

No mark

Cite this object as

The Mind in the Hand Brooch; Designed by Esther Knobel; silver embroidered with iron thread; H x W x D: 6.5 × 7.5 × 1 cm (2 9/16 × 2 15/16 × 3/8 in.); The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; 2016-34-57

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

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/R36AP/
Accession Number 2016-34-57
Object ID 554917367