collier met zwaan c. 1901

This is ‘Collier met Zwaan’ by Philippe Wolfers. I can’t tell exactly when he made it, but this necklace combines gold, enamel, ruby, and pearl. Look at the wings on this piece, they almost feel like Art Nouveau versions of feathers, the individual barbs all picked out with a pale, almost ethereal blue that reminds me of something celestial and dream-like. There is something really clever about the way that Wolfers has used both pale cool tones and warmer golds, I'm left with a sense of real drama. The small pearl that dangles below the swan’s body feels both light and precious. I can imagine the feeling of cold metal on my skin, but the pearl, a natural object, feels strangely human. I can't help but think of Gustav Klimt when I see this necklace, those similar experiments with color, texture and tone, that same sense of a story being told that may or may not be true. It seems Wolfers is reminding us that art doesn't have to mean one thing.