Lot 392
BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) §
PAIR OF 'LEAF' DROP EARRINGS
Auction: Day Two | Lots 100 to 527 | Fri 31 October from 10am
Description
each stamped maker's mark BOC, white metal and white quartz
Dimensions
drop 8.8cm (3 ½in)
Provenance
Private Collection, U.K.
Footnote
Breon O’Casey (1928–2011) was first introduced to metalwork at school by Naum Slutzky, formerly head of metalwork at the Bauhaus. It was not until his move to St Ives, however, that jewellery became central to his practice. Among a community of artists supplementing their income with small works sold through Robin Nance’s craft shop on the quay, O’Casey quickly discovered that his jewellery found a ready market. Gradually he abandoned other part-time jobs to rely on it entirely.
Early inspiration came from photographs of Alexander Calder’s jewellery, whose inventive forms became a touchstone for O’Casey’s own development. As he later recalled, “Any aspiring jeweller has only to study Calder’s jewellery to be set on the right path.”
Fallon, Brian and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey, Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.106.
