Reproducing Jewelry, Restoring History : Accessories: Necklaces, earrings and the like say a lot about a civilization, says Joanne Lyman, who creates authorized copies.
Accessories should never be dismissed as merely decorative.
“Jewelry is a miniaturized version of the great arts, of a period’s signature architectural elements,” says Joanne Lyman, head of jewelry reproduction for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s retail operations, which includes a satellite store in South Coast Plaza. “It gives you insights to the technological ability of a civilization. Jewelry gives you clues to how people lived.”
For 21 years, Lyman has reproduced pieces directly from the originals or has adapted designs inspired by masterpieces for the museum’s stores. A pair of neoclassic earrings might get copied exactly, while a pattern from the walls of the Alhambra in Spain might be etched on to a sterling business-card holder.
“Through history, you see when explorations influenced the times,” noted Lyman, who cited the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922, which spawned a renaissance of ancient Egyptian-inspired architecture and fashion throughout the roaring decade.
Likewise, such grand exhibits as “Greek Gold: Jewelry of the Classical World,” now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, can prompt reproductions or variations based on the exquisite originals. The presentation, which brings together pieces from MOMA, the British Museum and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, motivated Lyman and her team to create fans for the stores.
There is a simpler version of a necklace from 400 BC with pendants shaped like flattened seeds ($90) and a pair of spiral earrings decorated with fine granulation, and curled wirework from the same period has been adapted into rings by the museum and offered in 14-carat gold ($325) and silver ($35).
Offering authorized reproductions of historical treasures has been a point of pride for MOMA since it opened its first store, inside the 125-year-old museum, in 1910. MOMA now operates 36 satellite shops worldwide. In addition to raising proceeds for the museum, sales of the reproductions promote public awareness of art.
Crafting them is an art form in itself.
Lyman enlists staff artisans and independent master jewelers “to use their extraordinary skills,” including tedious Old World techniques.
“You wouldn’t want to do something to a piece that would violate its integrity,” Lyman said.
She approaches design from a historical perspective, such as using stones with intrusions if the original was created that way. Today such a gem might be considered imperfect, but Lyman insists on its inherent beauty.
“It gives off the light better,” she said.
Still, duplication is not so identical that a piece cannot be distinguished as a modern copy.
“There are too many fakes in this world,” Lyman said. “We don’t want to contribute to that.”
All pieces are stamped as a product of the museum; even sculptural reproductions receive a buried “M” that can be detected under X-ray.
Slight alterations also make it distinctly MOMA.
A Greek gold pendant of a gorgon face dated 450 BC is reproduced as a pendant (sold with jasper beads, $75), earrings ($38), bracelet ($42) and cuff links ($25).
“But we want enough of an original piece there to evoke the images of the time,” Lyman said.
Paintings are another source for Lyman. Peter Paul Rubens’ 1616 masterpiece “Venus Before the Mirror” has resulted in several items for the stores, including a set of earrings ($48 to $150) that have become bestsellers and favorites of Princess Di and of the late Rudolf Nureyev.
“I love going to museums to figure out what I want to do,” said Lyman, an artist who’s devoted much of her life bringing the museum to the public. “They are a great source for inspiration.”
