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Atlantis Jewel by William Harper

Brooch / Abstract Conceptual

Published: 15.09.2025

Brooch: Atlantis Jewel by William Harper.Cask: Wood, leather, specimen butterfly, mixed media metals, glass, plastic, bone
. Brooch: 14, 18, 22 and 24 kt. gold. 1999.Cask: 27.9 x 27.9 x 15.2 cm, brooch: 13.9 x 7.6 cm.Photo by: Jenny GomanUnique piece.Indebted to Joseph Cornell but also to medieval reliquaries, William Harper’s boxes (he calls them “casks” or “treasure boxes” are containers for his jewels (or sometimes saints). He originally conceived them as remnants from the lost city of Atlantis, where the official religion was ART. On the outside they bristle with nails, wire, keys, and miscellaneous findings. They invert both Cornell’s boxes, which are self contained, and medieval reliquaries, where the precious materials are on the outside..

Brooch: Atlantis Jewel by William Harper.Cask: Wood, leather, specimen butterfly, mixed media metals, glass, plastic, bone
. Brooch: 14, 18, 22 and 24 kt. gold. 1999.Cask: 27.9 x 27.9 x 15.2 cm, brooch: 13.9 x 7.6 cm.Photo by: Jenny GomanUnique piece.Indebted to Joseph Cornell but also to medieval reliquaries, William Harper’s boxes (he calls them “casks” or “treasure boxes” are containers for his jewels (or sometimes saints). He originally conceived them as remnants from the lost city of Atlantis, where the official religion was ART. On the outside they bristle with nails, wire, keys, and miscellaneous findings. They invert both Cornell’s boxes, which are self contained, and medieval reliquaries, where the precious materials are on the outside..

Indebted to Joseph Cornell but also to medieval reliquaries, William Harper’s boxes (he calls them “casks” or “treasure boxes” are containers for his jewels (or sometimes saints). He originally conceived them as remnants from the lost city of Atlantis, where the official religion was ART. On the outside they bristle with nails, wire, keys, and miscellaneous findings. They invert both Cornell’s boxes, which are self contained, and medieval reliquaries, where the precious materials are on the outside.

William Harper

Brooch
Atlantis Jewel
1999
Cask: Wood, leather, specimen butterfly, mixed media metals, glass, plastic, bone
Brooch: 14, 18, 22 and 24 kt. gold
Cask: 27.9 x 27.9 x 15.2 cm, brooch: 13.9 x 7.6 cm
Unique piece

Photo by:: Jenny Goman

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