Skip to content
Jean Després Modernist Silver Ring
$5,500
Dating from the early 1930s, this Modernist silver ring was designed and handmade by Jean Després, Paris. Composed of interlocking geometric forms, the ring's rectangular top centers three hemicylinders flanked by arched elements and stepped shoulders, completed by a tapering shank of smooth and unusual reeded sections. Beautifully balanced and engineered, this small and sculptural Després ring expresses the intellectual discipline and clarity of Modernism.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: R-21560
Artist: Jean Després
Country: France
Circa: Early 1930s
Size: 8.5 (this ring can be sized; please contact the gallery for further information)
Materials: Silver
Signed: J. Despres, maker's mark, French assay marks
Després was a major force in the Renaissance of decorative arts that took place in France after World War I. His machine age jewelry is characterized by pure lines and precision. In the 1920s, expressing his viewpoint as a jewelry artist, Després said that the value of the materials themselves was not important, but instead that it was "necessary to think first of line and ...volume." While he did collaborate on certain items with other modern artists, Després created all his jewelry himself, never subcontracting to outside manufacturers.