Pendant

Oszkar Tarjan (Huber) (1875–1933) was an outstanding designer and maker of Hungarian Art Nouveau goldsmith works, who after studying in Munich became a pupil of the famed Parisian jeweller Rene Lalique (1860–1945). He thus had first-hand knowledge of Art Nouveau trends in jewellery. This remained a major source of inspiration for him, but he achieved his greatest Hungarian and international success with his work in the Hungarian spirit. His breakthrough came at the 1902 Turin International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Arts, in the form of a gold medal. Below: The bouquet is composed in a rounded form made from stylised flowers, the decoration of which is made by small fields of filigree enamel. The almandine pendant placed in between the leaves is inherited from baroque pendants. The decorative ornaments resemble embroidery on the felt cloak of Hungarian shepherds, and thus represent a Hungarian direction quite unlike French Art Nouveau style. Above: The depiction of triangular fish cut from a metal sheet extends beyond the borders of the striped background. The curved extension of the bottom part was probably made for hanging pearls common on pendants. These, however, did not appear on the object at the 1904 Christmas Fair at the Museum of Applied Arts. This composition illustrates other influences in the jewellery of Tarjan, Japanese art and the works of his Parisian master, Rene Lalique.