Onderonsje by Lucy Sarneel. A Future Classic in Contemporary Jewellery

The title of the necklace by Lucy Sarneel (1961-2020), 'Onderonsje', is a difficult word to translate. When translated into English, it becomes ‘Get-together’ or ‘Private Chat’, but these words lack the cosines of the Dutch word onderonsje.

An ‘onderonsje’ is something informal and confidential, usually between two people. Literally, ‘onder ons’ means ‘between ourselves’, but it still lacks the intimate flavour of the typical Dutch diminutive form ‘je’ or ‘tje’ at the end of the noun. This form is used a lot: ‘een momentje’ (just a moment), ‘het zonnetje schijnt’ (the sun is shining), ‘mijn lieve mamaatje’ (my dear Mum) – it seems as though everything we love can be made smaller (‘een biertje graag’: a beer, please), not physically but in your mind. It creates a relaxed atmosphere, and it makes things more friendly, also at work: ‘kan je me even een mailtje sturen’ (please, can you send me a mail?). As you can see, although the diminutive form dates back to the Middle Ages, it is still widely used in Dutch language and applied to modern words.

But what did Lucy Sarneel mean when she named her necklace this way?
Unfortunately, we can’t ask her anymore as she died almost six years ago. Let’s start to unravel the piece, which will explain why I think it is a new classic of Dutch and contemporary jewellery.

The piece is made of zinc, which was Lucy’s favourite material. She was probably the first jewellery artist/goldsmith to make this material her own and devised a way of making the material even more attractive in terms of its colour and materiality. Zinc has the colour of heavy, Dutch, clouded skies. It is a material we are familiar with from our own houses, where it is used to either hold water or allow it to flow through gutters and downpipes. Zinc was commonly used for cans, buckets and basins at home. Zinc ensures that water is transported and retained, and it is also an essential element in our blood, which supports our immune system. In short, zinc is a vital building block for our bodies and our daily lives - we cannot do without it. Lucy found her own material and means of expression in simple zinc, a no-nonsense material whose colour blended in with the grey clouds and sea.

There is also the design of the piece to consider. It resembles a pearl necklace, with the size of the handmade zinc beads varying in a similar way to a classic pearl chain. However, this piece does not form a closed chain. It offers an alternative way of wearing: the two open ends should be tied in a knot on your chest, with the two large ornaments resting on your collarbones. These two ornaments are references to the so-called ‘Zeeuwse knopen’ (Zealand button or knots), which were a popular feature of Dutch regional costume, particularly in silver or gold filigree. Traditionally, very small gold ‘buttons’ were used as repetitive decorative elements in brooches, pendants, pins, and clasps. Silver ones were originally made as large buttons, two of which were used to fasten the trousers of wealthy farmers. A diameter of 9 centimetres and a height of about 4 centimetres was not unusual. They were ostentatious and all about showing off; poor people had to make do with wooden or bone buttons. Gold and silver were the resources needed to set yourself apart, show your religious belief and status, and safeguard your family’s wealth.

Lucy’s Zealand buttons are quite different; she didn’t use filigree, but she did use spheres of various sizes. People in the Netherlands will easily recognize them as modern versions of a traditional form.


Lucy Sarneel. Necklace: Onderonsje, 2008. Zinc, red gold and nylon thread.


The piece also holds a secret known only to the wearer. The title onderonsje encapsulates the notions of confidentiality and friendship. If you want to share a story that is not meant to be known by everyone, you can keep it ‘among us.’ The story is this: for the first time, and quite unusually in her work, Lucy added golden elements to the piece. The large ornaments or ‘knots’ are attached to softly curved golden discs, which gracefully connect the jewellery to the body as it rests on the collarbones. As a small gift, a finishing touch, the chain ends with the tiniest beads partially made of gold. Unlike the farmers of Zeeland, Lucy didn’t feel the need to flaunt the gold. It plays a secondary role in this piece of jewellery, but its lightly hammered texture feels pleasant against the skin.

This beautifully crafted necklace brings together an array of stories, memories and references, with great attention to detail. I appreciate the clever way in which Lucy pays homage to regional jewellery without being literal. This demonstrates her sensitivity in keeping Dutch culture in a contemporary guise.

Contemporary Dutch jewellery pays little attention to tradition or Dutch culture. This is a challenging subject given that we lack natural jewellery materials (all traditional jewellery was made from imported materials), whilst traditions are often considered outdated. However, Lucy Sarneel has achieved something completely new with this necklace, which is filled with stories and associations about home. The great thing is that it’s an amazing and unique piece of jewellery even if you don’t know all that. So, you can simply forget all my words! It’s a true classic of the future - that goes without saying!



Why Future Classics?
What Makes a Contemporary Jewellery Piece Become a Classic? Our aim is not to define academic criteria or impose any form of conservatism, but to collect subjective perspectives that help us understand the values and expectations shaping our field, without reducing them to fixed rules or hierarchies. By sharing these voices, we invite you to think together and open a conversation about durability, relevance, and the ways particular works contain certain patterns or enigmas that make them continue to speak over time.


 

About the author

Liesbeth den Besten is an art historian, based in the Amsterdam region, who works as an independent writer, teacher, lecturer, and curator. She was one of the initiators, heads and teachers of MASieraad (initiating the temporary master Challenging Jewellery at the Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam from 2018-2020, and MASieraad Hasselt-Amsterdam at PXL-MAD in Hasselt Belgium, from 2021-2024), together with Gijs Bakker, Ruudt Peters, and Ted Noten.

Publications include: On Jewellery, A Compendium of International Contemporary Art Jewellery, 2011, From the Coolest Corner: Nordic Jewellery (ed. Widar Halén), 2013; Caroline Broadhead, 2017; Contemporary Jewellery in Context, a Handshake Blueprint (ed. Peter Deckers), 2017. 
She is currently working on a new book about materials and jewellery.

Photo credits: Miecke Oosterman

Contact: liesbethdenbesten@gmail.com