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Python necklace
David Bielander (Swiss (works in Germany), born in 1968)
Swiss
2011
Medium/Technique
Anodized titanium
Dimensions
Length: 243.8 cm (96 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Susan C. Beech
Accession Number2017.1505
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Jewelry, Contemporary Art
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Necklaces and neck bands
DescriptionEight foot long purple python that wraps around the body to form a necklace. David Bielander’s purple python necklace is a centerpiece in Past is Present: Revival Jewelry exhibition. An unusual scale and color, Bielander sites Adam and Eve (1893) by the German artist Franz von Stuck as his source of inspiration. In this painting Eve holds her arm out to Adam. Slithering around Eve’s leg and up onto her outstretched arm is a purple-blue snake whose teeth are piercing a brilliant red apple, which Eve holds in the palm of her hand. Undoubtedly influenced by snake ornaments that came before, in Python (2011) Bielander sought to experiment with materials and scale. Made in titanium, the necklace is completely flexible and shockingly lightweight. Bielander has “knit” a single sheet of titanium to crate this eight-foot open-work necklace that can be worn in a variety of ways, as just has a simple s-hook clasp that can be attached at any point on the body of the snake.
ProvenanceBy 2012, sold by Ornamentum Gallery, Hudson, NY to Susan C. Beech, Tiburon, CA; 2017, gift of Susan C. Beech to the MFA. (Accession date: June 21, 2017)