Saturday, July 28, 2012

OLYMPIC DREAMS CARVED IN GOLD

In honor of the London games this summer, we pulled up a few Olympian gems produced by Gustav Manz in the early 1900s. Manz's training as a draughtsman and jeweler coincided with archaeological digs of the late 19th century, which revived classical motifs and styles.

THE DISC THROWER



A pair of classical figures flank a large sapphire on the ring above: the visible side depicts the Discobolus; the other side features Manz's take on the marble statue of the Borghese Gladiator by first-century B.C. sculptor Agasius of Ephesus 


THE HEAVY LIFTERS


Heavenly twins Castor and Pollux, naked with their reined steeds, steady an oval stone in this early Manz design 


Hand-wrought in rose gold, Manz's "Discobolus and Gladiator" ring (shown above) was one of a dozen pieces illustrating art critic Irene Sargent's review of work coming out of F. Walter Lawrence's salon (most of it executed by Manz) in the July 1905 issue. The detailing on the signet ring in the sketch below it not only shows off Manz's fondness for high-relief carving but his wit and skill in compressing the myth of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, onto the narrow band of the ring. He managed to fit in a "boxing ring" (overlapping straps) beneath the feet of Pollux, famous for his fisticuffs though he was ultimately outmatched by a brass-headed giant named Amycus. When his twin Castor died in a fight their father arranged for the brothers to maintain their closeness by placing them among the stars as the Gemini Twins. 


THE ARCHER


 Designs in Manz's surviving ledgers invoke satyrs and bacchantes, fauns and naiads, and other Greco-Roman figures; an entry for a ring sold to retailer George Bell in 1919, who may have been introduced to Manz's work at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904,identifies the figure reaching for a grape cluster in this sketch as Diana, Greek goddess of hunting, the moon, and chastity


THE FREESTYLERS


More pieces showing off Manz's flair for modeling mythological figures, photographed on stationery from his studio at 41-43 Maiden Lane, circa 1901 (Winterthur Museum and Library) 


Coincidentally, the third modern Olympiad also took place in 
St. Louis during the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and was more or less folded into the fair—creating the perfect backdrop for Manz's evocations of buff classical gods and goddesses in the fair's art pavilion. 

A photograph of unfinished jewelry found in Manz's business archive at Winterthur (above) offers further clues to what his work from that time looked like. Several items incorporate iridescent shards of ancient glass. Placed atop a sheet of Manz's business stationery are a buckle or dress clip styles as a lotus flower; two scenic brooches evoking Nile Valley flora and fauna—lion and snake (upper left), Sphinx and pyramids (upper right); a fancy pendant depicting a semi-nude woman dancing above diamond-set lotus blossomsAnd, at center, an purse frame carved with mermaids rising from lotus pond; the finished piece, marked for F. Walter Lawrence, was set with a cabochon chrysoprase and is now in private collection. 

To be sure a craftsman's homage to artistry, and to the heroes and deities, from a distant, non-industrialized past ... in perfect harmony with wealthy Americans' infatuation with Grand Tours and European high culture.  

notes
1. Discobolus ring first appeared in The Keystone; thanks to Cleota Reed at Syracuse University for locating this image
2. Photo of custom work from Manz's studio, c 1900-1905; courtesy Winterthur Museum
3. Atlas and Diana ring design drawings by Gustav Manz (c) Gustav Manz LLC
4. Poster courtesy of Smithsonian Image Collection
5. Special thanks to several descendants of George Bell for sharing biographical details





Olympic Revival: Poster for the games held in St. Louis during the summer of 1904, signed "St. John" 




Copyright © 2014 
All Rights Reserved 
 GUSTAV MANZ LLC

1 comment:

  1. Feeling happy to read this article. I think all should have a look on diana rings.

    ReplyDelete