Jewellery – Form – Content brings together jewellery past and present, exploring it not chronologically but in terms of the ways in which jewellery can bear meanings. Rather than theoretical interpretation, it illustrates these by examining pieces of jewellery that are in many respects quite diverse. It covers the full range of jewellery, not just physical objects but also jewellery that exists more as a concept or event. It embraces auteur and collective works, and jewellery confrontational and conventional. Some exemplars reappear in the book in other groupings, revealing further layers in the language of jewellery. The concept behind the book, and the works themselves, come principally from the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, which feature in all of the chapters: Jewellery and Time; Jewellery and Light; Jewellery and Physique; Jewellery and Figure. Each chapter also presents works from other collections of the Czech Republic and abroad, as well as items that are privately owned, jewellery that is still worn today, and jewellery that has not survived.
Jewellery – Form – Content is the first time that historical and contemporary jewellery from the museum’s collections have been presented side by side. The book draws on the jewellery installations in ART, LIFE. Art for Life, the permanent exhibition that opened in the museum’s main building in 2023, but it also places this jewellery in an international context. The result of this attempt to highlight jewellery’s semantic potential is a mosaic of different themes that prepares the ground for a more in-depth exploration of specific topics in the museum’s forthcoming exhibitions and publications.
Publisher: UPM 2024
Text: Petja Matějovič
Graphic design: COLMO
Format: 24,5 x 19,5 cm
number of printed pages: 228
number of reproductions: 205
ISBN 978-80-7101-227-6
CZK 960