Product Info

These earrings by renowned studio jeweler Margaret De Patta are wearable sculpture. Their sensual curved form sweeps forward and is subtly enhanced by textured hatching. In addition, one side of each earring has a concave depression which adds additional depth and shadow. There are other subtle sculptural details like the way the sides of the earrings slope towards the top. But for me, the most interesting aspect of the design is the flange that cantilevers towards the back of the earring; the earlobe slides between this flange and the screw back fitting which causes the earring to tip forward, enhancing the curves of the piece. The last photo, of an earring on a display, best shows this quality which I've never seen on any other pair of earrings.

I believe this piece is a one-of-a-kind piece of De Patta's. The book Space, Light, Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta shows her production sketches and photographs of it from her archives, and these earrings are not shown.

Margaret De Patta was one of the pioneers of the studio jewelry movement of the mid-20th century. De Patta originally trained as a painter in the 1920's where she was influenced by the work of European modernists. In the 1930's and 40's she became influenced by the work of the Bauhaus, particularly Laszlo Moholy-Nagy under whom she studied in 1940 and '41. In 2012 there was an exhibit of De Patta's work and an accompanying monograph titled Space, Light, Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta. This major retrospective was shown at the Museum of Art and Design in New York and at the Oakland Museum of California. 

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