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After years of creating jewelry and accessories for fashion designers Giorgio Sant’ Angelo and Halston, Elsa Peretti was hired in 1974 by Walter Hoving at Tiffany & Co. The Scorpion was one of the first new jewelry designs Peretti introduced at the iconic American jewelry firm. Her inspiration came from scorpions she observed at her beloved Sant Marti Vell, Spain, where she spent much of her life. In 1978 Peretti asked in The New York Times, “Did you know that a scorpion can kill itself instantly?” She described how the creature stings itself in the head with its own tail (based on a long-held myth that scorpions commit suicide when threatened by fire) and shared, “I am working now with my craftsman on a scorpion that will do that.” The following year, after months of collaboration with the Catalonian silversmith Vincent Abad, this large Scorpion necklace with a flexible, detachable tail was introduced in the Tiffany Blue Book.
Scorpion necklace
Designed by: Elsa Peretti (Italian, 1940 – 2021)
Retailed by: Tiffany & Co. (American, active 1837 - present)
Retailed by: Tiffany & Co. (American, active 1837 - present)
American
1978
Medium/Technique
Silver
Dimensions
Length x width: 31.2 x 14 x 1.3 cm (12 15/16 x 5 1/2 x 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Anonymous gift
Accession Number2017.4179
CollectionsEurope, Jewelry, Contemporary Art, Americas
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Necklaces and neck bands
After years of creating jewelry and accessories for fashion designers Giorgio Sant’ Angelo and Halston, Elsa Peretti was hired in 1974 by Walter Hoving at Tiffany & Co. The Scorpion was one of the first new jewelry designs Peretti introduced at the iconic American jewelry firm. Her inspiration came from scorpions she observed at her beloved Sant Marti Vell, Spain, where she spent much of her life. In 1978 Peretti asked in The New York Times, “Did you know that a scorpion can kill itself instantly?” She described how the creature stings itself in the head with its own tail (based on a long-held myth that scorpions commit suicide when threatened by fire) and shared, “I am working now with my craftsman on a scorpion that will do that.” The following year, after months of collaboration with the Catalonian silversmith Vincent Abad, this large Scorpion necklace with a flexible, detachable tail was introduced in the Tiffany Blue Book.
DescriptionSilver scorpion necklace with its head positioned upward towards the chin, legs wrapping around the neck, and the tail nestled between the breasts.
Marks
"1978", "Tiffany & Co.", "Peretti", and "Sterling"
ProvenanceJune 2017, sold by Ken Leach, New York to an anonymous collector; 2017, gift of anoymous donor to the MFA. (Accession date: October 11, 2017)
Copyright© Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation