Northern Modernist Jewellery – a museum collecting project

In 2015 National Museums Scotland was awarded an Art Fund New Collecting Award to collect, research and disseminate jewellery designed and created in Britain and the Nordic States between 1945-1978. The project highlighted a legacy of transnational influences and traditions within Northern Europe, particularly shared cultural heritage, the influence of landscape, and methods of manufacture. During this period the influence of Scandinavian Modernism could be perceived across all aspects of design including jewellery, and work by designers and makers was, and is, collected widely both in Europe and the United States. However, the story differed in Britain where Modernist jewellery designers and makers were overlooked. During this period the acquisition policies of many collecting institutions and organisations tended to be swayed by conservative critics who rejected modernism in favour of more traditional styles. In recent years the design aesthetics and artistic achievements of these designers and makers have been reconsidered. With Modernist Jewellery introduced to the collecting and display practices of several UK institutions, including National Museums Scotland. This article aims to highlight the rationale behind the Northern Modernist Jewellery project, the transnational influences and divergences which informed the collecting aspect of the project, and the ways in which the resulting exhibition allowed further collecting to take place.