Born in Croatia, Sylvia Gottwald studied fine art and design in Italy and Canada prior to earning her Masters of Architecture from Harvard University and completing her post-graduate in City Planning at MIT.
In 2000, following her long, successful career practicing architecture and urban planning locally and internationally, she turned her attention and efforts to the gems of the oceans.
Ms. Gottwald transforms the natural beauty and iridescence of nacre/mother-of-pearl and pearls into contemporary wearable art. Her avant-garde designs integrate nacre with precious metals, semi-precious gems, and edgy modern
materials such as rubber and steel.
Her interest in nacre is not only it’s inherent beauty, but also the importance of oysters to our marine ecosystems. The pearly oysters filter polluting nitrogen and plankton, protecting the oceans, and adding to the sustainability of life on our planet. In addition to their precious nacreous shell, they create a mysterious gem- the pearl- the only gem created by a living organism.
Ms. Gottwald’s growing list of published work includes the covers of European Vogue, Elle Decor, Ornament, Home & Design, exhibited at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, Palais du Louvre (Paris); Musée de la Nacre (Paris/Meru); Museum of Modern Art (New York City); Museum of Contemporary Art Kampa (Prague); Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, DC); and the International Museum. Photo: SYLVIA GOTTWALD, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2012. Photograph by Domagoj Blazevic. of Applied Arts (Turin).
Initially, Korean craft masters utilized many natural materials with iridescent color effect, such as jewel beetle wings or mica flakes; however, only after the use of the abalone did the nacre inlay techniques and lacquer become fully developed resulting in technical perfection.
The finest artworks of the craft have been traced to the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), especially during the 12th century. Only approximately 20 Goryeo dynasty abalone inlaid lacquer objects still exist in collections. The traditional Korean mother-of-pearl lacquer craft developed its own artistic style distinct from other East Asian countries, as for example Japan or China in terms of technique, style, pattern and materials.
Abalone nacre inlay in black lacquer is also one of the most magnificent and celebrated traditions in Thai arts and crafts. In ancient Thai history the lacquer inlay was one of the highest forms of artistic expression and was reserved exclusively for court and cloister. The Ayutthaya Palace Law of 1358 prescribed nacre utensils to be given to certain royal ranks. The members of the royal family were to eat from nacre inlay. So important was the grandeur of nacre inlay to royal prestige that the ninth king of Ayutthaya, Trilok, established a Department of Mother-of-Pearl to direct its craftsmanship and limit it to courtiers within the royal household. The building that housed this ministry was of nacre inlay and situated near the throne hall, showing how important nacre inlay was to the monarchy.
In my own production of jewelry I prefer to use either old abalone which I up-cycle or I relay on supply from sustainably farmed abalone. Most frequently abalone shell is a by product of sustainable food aquaculture industry.
The piece of jewelry featured in this article is up cycled from vintage French Art Deco pieces. Each element was then silvered on the back in order to reinforce an otherwise a very fragile material. Finally it was attached to a rubber necklace.
December 2016 Art & Culture
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