|
Victorian tortoise hair comb, circa 1860, decorated with high-karat gold and diamonds in fleur-de-lis pattern.
|
Like other famed estates that were built by America’s self-made
industrialists — Hearst’s San Simeon in California, Rockefeller’s Kykuit in New
York State and Vanderbilt’s Biltmore, located in North Carolina — the Stan
Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, Ohio, is an impressive testament to how the
wealthy of the day lived. Once home to F.A. Seiberling, the co-founder of the
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and his wife Gertrude, and now a historic
landmark open to the public, the Tudor Revival mansion has 65 rooms and
extensive grounds. What it didn’t have was any of the personal jewels owned by
F.A. and Gertrude, the pieces having been dispersed throughout the family. But
thanks to a new exhibit, which opened in April, “Finer Things: Jewelry &
Accessories from the 1880s-1930s,” a fascinating glimpse of the beautiful
things that the couple and others of their strata in society would have owned
is now on view.
PLAYING DETECTIVE
The array of jewelry on display showcases Victorian, Arts
and Crafts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. To make sure the exhibit would
accurately represent the type of gems the Seiberlings would have owned, exhibit
curator Elyse Zorn Karlin, co-director of the Association for the Study of
Jewelry & Related Arts (ASJRA) and publisher/executive editor of Adornment
magazine, was able to “extrapolate from looking at photographs of the couple,
receipts from where they shopped and the time period in which they lived to
choose the type of jewelry they might have worn.” Karlin was able to immerse
herself in material that revealed Gertrude’s interests and gave her a more
detailed look at the family, the house and the descendents.
“I looked at the time period and what would have been
stylish and what the couple could have afforded,” Karlin continues. “They
traveled to Europe and to New York, so they were worldly, yet they lived in
Akron, so she wouldn’t have chosen the same level of sophisticated clothing and
jewels a wealthy woman in New York might have worn. And I looked at photographs
of her family to see what her mother might have worn.” In addition to the
jewelry, Gertrude’s hats, gloves, handbags, gowns and wedding dress are on
display throughout the house. The items provide yet another clue for choosing
the jewelry since, as Karlin notes, “Fashion is intimately related to jewelry
and it helps to give a more complete picture of the time.”
Gertrude was married in 1895, at the end of the Victorian
period. And coming from a wealthy family, reasons Karlin, she would undoubtedly
have inherited pieces from both her mother and grandmother. There are also
pictures of Gertrude wearing “what looks like a distinctive art jewelry
pendant,” says Karlin. “I think she was well aware of the Arts and Crafts
movement because she was an artist herself. And we know she bought from Horace
Potter, who was an Arts and Crafts jeweler in Cleveland, Ohio.” Another clue to
Gertrude’s tastes was a Louis Comfort Tiffany candlestick, further indication
“she was artistically inclined,” which would be reflected in what she wore as
well as how she furnished her home.
Choosing the type of pieces F.A. Seiberling might have worn
was easier. “He wore a pocket watch, so we have watches and chains. I’m sure he
wore cufflinks and studs, because they were going to fancy events.” Men’s
jewelry in the exhibit also includes a 1920s men’s alligator desk set that
features a mirror and a jewelry box.
Approximately 140 pieces of jewelry will be displayed in the
music room, in cases, organized chronologically by design period. Some of the
jewelry in the exhibit is on loan from supporters of the museum and several
pieces were borrowed from Seiberling descendants. “One is a presentation watch
that F.A.’s employees gave him — it’s in this beautiful box with a
certificate,” points out Karlin. “Another striking piece loaned by a family
member is a locket given to F.A. as a Christmas gift in 1918 that contained a
lock of Lincoln’s hair. It was purchased from the J. E. B. Stuart collection of
Lincolniana.”
ON DISPLAY
While there are wonderful unsigned pieces, the exhibit also
includes some of each period’s well-known designer names. “We have a pair of
Fabergé earrings, which are really beautiful. They are pink enamel with diamond
roundels, circa 1900 to 1905,” says Karlin. A Victorian lava cameo of a cherub
has an intriguing provenance. “It comes from the estate of Diana Dors, a
British actress, who described herself as ‘the only sex symbol England has
produced since Lady Godiva.’” Other Victorian jewelry includes traditional
micromosaics and jet jewelry, as well as a Victorian gold-and-diamond decorated
hair comb, shown right. There is also jewelry Gertrude might have worn with her
wedding gown: a late Victorian star pendant with diamonds and a pearl in the
middle, and a ring to match.
Along with the diamond and platinum Edwardian jewelry is a
classic pearl “dog collar” necklace, circa 1900, with a floral basket in the
plaque. Included in a case of men’s and women’s watches from different time
periods is an Edwardian platinum watch with diamonds on the chain by Udall and
Ballou.
Representing the Arts and Crafts jewelry are a Guild of
Handicrafts gold necklace and an Elizabeth Bonté horn pendant, a brooch by
English jeweler Sibyl Dunlop, a plique-à-jour enameled cross by Mildred
Watkins, who worked in Cleveland, and a ring and brooch by Frances Koehler, an
important Arts and Crafts jeweler in Chicago. Also included are pieces by
Boston jewelers Edward Everett Oakes and Frank Gardiner Hale.
Art Nouveau attractions, explains Karlin, include a
“fabulous necklace and tiara set worked in plique-à-jour enamel with a peridot
in the middle by Marcus & Company, circa 1910, and a gorgeous French Art
Nouveau pendant watch, detailed with Limoges enameling with a diamond inset in
gold.” Other examples are pieces from American Art Nouveau Newark jewelers like
Unger Brothers and Richard Krementz, as well as, for the first time in public,
floral jewelry by Gustav Manz. The latter, says Karlin, are an homage to
Gertrude’s “serious” gardening skills and the magnificent grounds of the
estate. The violet blossom brooch is mixed pink and yellow gold with diamonds;
the chrysanthemum pendant is “chased” gold with dematoid garnets and amethysts
and a crystal intaglio of a woman’s head, circa 1920.
“The minute you see the house, you understand what F.A. and
Gertrude Seiberling’s lifestyle was,” concludes Karlin, “and the jewelry
enhances your glimpse into the way they might have lived.”
Finer Things:
Jewelry & Accessories from the 1880s-1930s, at Stan Hywet Hall &
Gardens, Akron, Ohio, will run through October 7, 2012.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2012. To subscribe click here.