104 - WOLFGANG SKOLUDA: A 22K GOLD NECKLACE, GERMAN, CIRCA 1970 Composed of intertwined rows of hand-forged knop and bobbin-shaped links with hammered surfaces, joined by ring links, to a hook clasp, in 22K gold, length 35.5cm

WOLFGANG SKOLUDA: A 22K GOLD NECKLACE, GERMAN, CIRCA 1970 Composed of intertwined rows of hand-forged knop and bobbin-shaped links with hammered surfaces, joined by ring links, to a hook clasp, in 22K gold, length 35.5cm For a similar necklace, see 'Wolfgang Skoluda, Schmuck 50 Jahre. Im Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg', page 18. (published in December 2009) Condition Report: In 22K gold - tested by the jewellery department and confirmed Date confirmed by artist's workshop Clasp closes securely Total gross weight approx. 160g Adam’s Auctioneers does not guarantee the standard of gold or platinum unless an item bears an official hallmark. In certain instances, metal content may be tested using a Thermo Scientific Nitron Handheld XRF Analyser. This device examines metal to a depth of approximately 8 microns only, and any results obtained through electronic testing must be regarded as indicative rather than definitive, as inaccuracies may occur. Where catalogue descriptions or condition reports refer to marks denoting metal fineness, or include an opinion as to metal content, such information is provided for guidance only. All statements contained within the catalogue represent expressions of opinion. Prospective purchasers must satisfy themselves as to all such matters prior to bidding. Wolfgang Skoluda (born 1935) is a jeweller and collector from Hamburg who has worked in gold for more than six decades without ever serving an apprenticeship. He came to the craft by way of tailoring, fashion school and illustration, which he studied with Wilhelm M. Busch, and he continued to draw throughout his career, recording each piece in inventory books alongside a written description. In November 1959, he showed his first jewellery collection at the annual Christmas Fair for Craftspeople at Hamburg’s Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, the city’s museum of art and design. He remembered being offered a stand, on condition that he do better the following year. He then went on to exhibit at 49 further editions of the fair, won the Hamburg State Prize in 1975, and in 2016, inaugurated the museum’s Jewellery Room exhibition series with a show of his own work. His method was shaped by what he did not know. By his own account, he had been making jewellery for seven years before he first saw the inside of a goldsmith’s workshop, and he was astonished by the equipment the trade considered necessary. In those early years, he never soldered: he hammered, bent and folded the metal and joined it with rivets, working entirely without fire. His goldwork is built from small sculptural links, each formed by hand and interlocked with the next, so that even the more substantial pieces can move as a single, supple whole. He began in silver and moved to gold of very high purity, which he has used almost exclusively since the early 1960s. At a time when contemporary jewellers were turning to steel, plastics and textiles, Skoluda found his field of experiment in the behaviour of the metal itself. His passion and curiosity grew increasingly towards ancient artefacts and fragments: Egyptian scarabs, engraved gems, Roman glass and damaged amulets, around which he forged new settings so that they could be worn once again. In 2001, the Hamburg museum exhibited his collection of ‘magical’ gems, stones engraved with images or inscriptions and believed to have protective or other powers. Skoluda liked to imagine the lives such stones might have led: a stone could have travelled in a medieval rider’s pouch, crossed the sea in a box or found its way into a Baroque ring. He saw himself as one of its temporary custodians, assembling a vast collection of various artefacts from Egypt, Afghanistan, Persia and Rome, to name a few. For Skoluda, placing an amulet back on the body was a way of returning it to its original purpose. It had once been carried to protect its wearer; now, in giving it a new setting, he invites its next wearer to protect it in turn.