Man Ray, a key member of the Dada and Surrealist groups in early 20th-century Paris, looked to a lampshade he designed in 1919 for these curled earrings. He created the design for GianCarlo Montebello, a fabricator who asked some of the 20th century's most notable artists to apply their skills to jewelry. Artists would offer a design to be fabricated in Montebello’s workshop in Milan. These dramatic, oversized, shoulder duster earrings are part of an edition of twelve—a smaller version called “Les Boucles” was also produced. French actress Catherine Deneuve famously wore a pair in a photograph taken by Man Ray in 1966. Unlike traditional earrings that are pushed through the ear or clipped to the lobe, these earrings are hung from a wire that sits over the back of the ear.

---