David Webb (American, 1925–1975), Necklace with Pendant, 1970, gold

Audio Description

David Webb was an American jewelry designer who created this necklace with pendant in 1970. He lived from 1925–1975.

A choker-style necklace, this piece is made of textured gold. It has seven sets of shapes that resemble three figure eights. Each set is connected with an oblong link. The pendant is a larger set of three figure eights.

Label Copy

David Webb was an American jewelry designer who created this necklace with pendant in 1970. He lived from 1925–1975.

A prolific designer, David Webb was famous for his brightly colored, gem-laden and enamel jewelry, often in the shape of animals. There was nothing politely petite about Webb’s work. All his designs were large-scale. Necklaces extended to the waist and beyond, rings spilled over the hand, and brooches exceeded the width of a suit lapel. Creating museum-caliber jewelry, in the late 1960s, he became interested in sculpture, making many singular objets d’art (art objects).

This choker-style necklace is an example of Webb’s large scale without his usual uproarious color. Here, the textured gold is enough. Inspired overall by the motifs of ancient civilizations, animals of all kinds, or simply the materials with which he worked, he also had an interest in knots. The 1952 edition of The Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work was always on his bookshelf—an obvious influence here.

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