Meret Oppenheim illustrated her concept for an arm or leg band in two drawings from the 1930s. Beside one picture are the instructions ‘very tight,’ making the dynamics inherent in the piece clear. She unites a biting critique of one role of jewellery - that of making the wearer ornamental, like a piece of furnishing upholstered with tassels - with another, contradictory, notion - of mastery and strength. The band could be a sign of bondage, or indeed of self-control. As with all of Meret Oppenheim’s jewellery designs, it is both appealing and charged with meaning. The band exists as an unlimited edition with bronze ends, as well as a limited edition with gold, as the artist specified.
Meret Oppenheim (1913-1985) was an artist like no other. She found early fame with the Surrealists, but she would transcend that group to become one of the most important Swiss cultural figures of the 20th century…
