Product Description
SOLD
Deeply Carved "Galalith" Beads ART MODERNE Necklace
Early Plastic
1920's Era
Sometimes Called WHITE BAKELITE, though NOT bakelite
Art Moderne jewelry, a quick history:
Between World War I and World War II, Art Moderne jewelers looked to new forms of inspiration taking ideas from the quickly changing world around them. Gears and bolts of the Machine Age offered unique shapes and forms as well as an increased sense of speed giving new visual ideas. Jazz music allowed for new forms of expressive dance; women, emancipated by increased employment opportunities during World War I, donned new styles which included bobbed hair and shift dresses with increasingly rising hemlines. Inspired by Cubism, Futurism and Russian Constructivism, these jewelers aspired to create wearable art for the masses, rather than gem-encrusted ornaments for the elite
Source - Sotheby's
UNIQUE BEADS, THOUGH AT LEAST 80 YEARS OLD, LOOK SO CONTEMPORARY. VERY COOL!
The beads graduate in size and each are elegantly carved in a striking, abstract, design. Each a miniature work of art indeed.
Small, smooth, galalith, spacer beads are strung in between each carved bead
Small, smooth, galalith, spacer beads are strung in between each carved bead
Condition is very good to excellent vintage with only slight age appropriate changes in color
Has not been cleaned
.
Measures approx 17" long
largest center beads measure approx. 17.5 mm & 15mm
Please see all photos for best description
Has not been cleaned
.
Measures approx 17" long
largest center beads measure approx. 17.5 mm & 15mm
Please see all photos for best description
