Name/Title
Jewelry CaseEntry/Object ID
2023.51.2Description
Metal jewelry case or box. An example of Art Nouveau, which flourished from c. 1890 until World War I. Donated with 40 other, similar metal jewelry boxes that belonged to the donor's late mother, who collected them. Eight of the jewelry boxes bear the mark JB. JB was the mark of Jennings Brothers of Bridgeport, CT. Edward (1863-1952) and Edwin Jennings founded the American Jewelry Company in Bridgeport in 1888. In 1890 they changed the name to Jennings Brothers. The company continued to manufacture fine metal items cast from molds: clocks, bookends, statues, metal cases, candelabras, and some silver plate. All Jennings Brothers products were labeled JB. In 1905, the company moved from its original small, wooden building to a larger building on Elm Street, a former gun foundry. Jennings Brothers went out of business in 1953. In the 1960s, its molds were sold to a company in Pennsylvania, which continued to use them, although the newer castings are not considered by collectors to be of good quality. Three others are marked B & W (Brainard & Wilson of Danbury, CT, 1909-1922). Two (including this one) are marked W. B. Manufacturing Co. (Weidlich Brothers of Bridgeport, CT, 1905-1950; co-founder Charles E. Weidlich previously worked at the Wheeler and Wilson sewing machine company, also of Bridgeport). One is marked W & W. The others do not bear any readable manufacturer's marks. Most are missing their cloth liners, if they originally had them (including this one).Item Type
Jewelry CaseStyle
Art NouveauUse
To hold or store jewelry when it was not being worn.Context
From Wikipedia: "Art Nouveau ('New Art') is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. Other characteristics of Art Nouveau were a sense of dynamism and movement, often given by asymmetry or whiplash lines, and the use of modern materials, particularly iron, glass, ceramics and later concrete, to create unusual forms and larger open spaces. It was popular between 1890 and 1910 during the Belle Époque period, and was a reaction against the academicism, eclecticism and historicism of 19th century architecture and decorative art.
"One major objective of Art Nouveau was to break down the traditional distinction between fine arts (especially painting and sculpture) and applied arts. It was most widely used in interior design, graphic arts, furniture, glass art, textiles, ceramics, jewellery and metal work. The style responded to leading 19-century theoreticians, such as French architect Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879) and British art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900). In Britain, it was influenced by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. German architects and designers sought a spiritually uplifting Gesamtkunstwerk ('total work of art') that would unify the architecture, furnishings, and art in the interior in a common style, to uplift and inspire the residents.
"The first Art Nouveau houses and interior decoration appeared in Brussels in the 1890s, in the architecture and interior design of houses designed by Paul Hankar, Henry van de Velde, and especially Victor Horta, whose Hôtel Tassel was completed in 1893. It moved quickly to Paris, where it was adapted by Hector Guimard, who saw Horta's work in Brussels and applied the style to the entrances of the new Paris Métro. It reached its peak at the 1900 Paris International Exposition, which introduced the Art Nouveau work of artists such as Louis Tiffany. It appeared in graphic arts in the posters of Alphonse Mucha, and the glassware of René Lalique and Émile Gallé.
"From Belgium and France, Art Nouveau spread to the rest of Europe, taking on different names and characteristics in each country. It often appeared not only in capitals, but also in rapidly growing cities that wanted to establish artistic identities (Turin and Palermo in Italy; Glasgow in Scotland; Munich and Darmstadt in Germany), as well as in centres of independence movements (Helsinki in Finland, then part of the Russian Empire; Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain).
"By 1914, with the beginning of the First World War, Art Nouveau was largely exhausted. In the 1920s, it was replaced as the dominant architectural and decorative art style by Art Deco and then Modernism. The Art Nouveau style began to receive more positive attention from critics in the late 1960s, with a major exhibition of the work of Hector Guimard at the Museum of Modern Art in 1970."Collection
Luond CollectionMade/Created
Manufacturer
Weidlich Brothers Manufacturing Co.Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
City
Bridgeport, CTState/Province
ConnecticutCountry
United States of AmericaContinent
North AmericaMark, Engraving or Stamp
Type
HallmarkLocation
BottomTranscription
WB MFG. CO.Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Case, JewelryNomenclature Primary Object Term
Case, PersonalNomenclature Sub-Class
Personal Carrying & Storage GearNomenclature Class
Personal GearNomenclature Category
Category 03: Personal ObjectsLocation
Location
Exhibit Room
Mill Manager's Bedroom Exhibit, Mill Manager's House Exhibit* Untyped Location
Main Museum BuildingDate
December 9, 2023Provenance
Provenance Detail
Belonged to donor's mother, who was a collector.Created By
historian@millmuseum.orgCreate Date
December 9, 2023Updated By
historian@millmuseum.orgUpdate Date
December 9, 2023
