07/02/2026
This is a trimmed selection of images, taken on my living room floor as I looked over a compendium titled ‘Contemporary jewellery in Australia and New Zealand’, assembled and written by Patricia Anderson, published by Craftsman House in 1998. In itself, this book is a treasure. Many of the artists featured remain contemporary (and legendary). In her text, Anderson refers to herself as ‘the writer’ ... such as in the Acknowledgments where she thanks her husband for being the requisite ‘someone around with higher housekeeping standards than the writer’. The first line of her Introduction is: ‘The following considerations have given this book its particular cast’, which exemplifies her beautifully direct and intelligent prose. I feel like quoting half the book to you and conveying 80% of its pages. Instead, my shortlist (photographers named where possible):
1. Leaf Cross (Brooch, 1994) by Warwick Freeman
2. Moonlight, Blue, Green, Red (Brooches, 1994) by Paul Annear (📷 Naruhiko Sameshima);
3. Statement from the Garden of Life (Brooch, 1992) by Joan Atkinson (📷 Naru Sameshima)
4. Box No. 2 (1993-4) by Robert Baines
5. Ring and Stand (1991) by Pauline Bern
6. (Detail) Serendipity II (Neckpiece, 1993) by Felicity Dalgleish
7. Desert Flowers (Brooch, 1988) by Nick Deeprose
8. Brooches (1992) by Warwick Freeman
9. Ring (1995) by Mari Funaki
10. Brooch (1993) by Eléna Gee (📷 Hani Sameshima)
11. Rings (1992) by Marian Hosking
12. Shell (Brooch, 1992) by Eugenie Keefer Bell
13. Disc (Pendants, 1991) by Mascha Moje
14. Two Rings (1992) by Lisa Pittar (📷 Peter Giannakis)
15. Fish Out of Water (Brooch, 1989-90) by Catherine Truman (📷 Grant Hancock or Michael Kluvanec)
16. Mouthpiece (Brooch, 1990) by Joan Atkinson (📷 Naru Sameshima)
Cover: Sun Flower (Neckpiece, 1994) by Yuri Kawanabe (📷 Karel Hubnik)
