The Scottish Gallery
Until 28th March 2015
18ct Gold Brooch, 2014
18ct gold with platinum set diamonds
Photograph: Neil Mason
The Scottish Gallery is delighted to present a showcase of new jewellery from Jacqueline Mina OBE.
"Following a research project I was involved with in 1999 at the Museum of London, in which a Roman sarcophagus and its contents discovered in London’s Spitalfields were being studied, I became fascinated by the ancient technique of ‘striptwist’ and its possible adaptation to my own work. It entails taking a long ribbon (strip) of gold and twisting it to the extreme, forcing the twist to collapse into a tubular form. In Antiquity this was an essential part of wire-making for filigree. I discovered, during my experiments with the technique, that if the ‘tube’ was partially un-twisted a beautiful, helicoidal form emerged, evoking the whorl inside spiral sea-shells – a small wonder of Nature. I have been constantly drawn back to this theme, creating necklaces, bracelets, earrings and brooches over the ensuing years - and I haven’t finished with it yet!"
Jacqueline Mina OBE 2015.