The Jewellery Box

Art historian Jorunn Veiteberg is one of the most renowned curators and authors in the field of applied art. Her spectacular collection of art jewellery comprises 550 pieces by over 120 jewellery artists from more than 30 countries. Now, for the very first time, the public is granted access to the entire collection in The Jewellery Box.
Whether earrings, bracelets, finger rings, necklaces, hair bands, anti-nuclear-weapon button-badges or brooches as part of traditional dress, Jorunn Veiteberg’s collection, which has developed over more than fifty years, includes jewellery for everyday use as well as for special occasions. Some could be described as gimmicks, others as meaningful art. Traditional design stands alongside experimental objects, while political statements mix company with humorous sideswipes.
To see jewellery as a status symbol or luxury object falls short of the mark for Jorunn Veiteberg. What interests her about jewellery is the conceptual and artistic aspect.
Thus whether a piece is made from simple or noble materials or concerns a famous or rather unknown artist is ultimately of no importance to her. Even serially produced objects take up space in Veiteberg’s collection – notably when the experiences connected with them hold significance for her.
When the Memphis group of designers was at the pinnacle of its success, Veiteberg wrote in her book that she had discovered there were jewellery designers out there too insisting on artistic freedom. For someone who has been wearing jewellery since her teenage years, this opened up new horizons for her.
What that means in concrete terms becomes clear as soon as you open The Jewellery Box.

The over 260 page-strong illustrated section enables a view of the entire collection – almost as if you were going through her personal jewellery box yourself, because every piece is reproduced in actual size. Since only a detail can be shown for those pieces whose dimensions are larger than its respective page, there is an illustration of the piece in full in the catalogue of works at the end of the book. As the illustrated section largely follows the order in which the objects made their way into the Denmark-based jewellery enthusiast’s life, all jewellery artists are also listed there alphabetically.

In the text section, Veiteberg describes in detail how she came to be a collector, why she concentrates on auteur jewellery and what it can achieve. In addition, she tells of her personal jewellery hot-spots around the world and presents thirty pages of portraits from various phases of her life that convey an impression of how she herself wears her jewellery.