Pioneer of modern jewelry
The Amsterdam auction house De Zwaan is offering a brooch by Dutch designer Bert Nienhuis in its upcoming art and antiques auction. Found under lot number 90 and with an estimated value of 6,000 to 8,000 euros, this brooch would not look out of place in a museum collection, as it is very special for the Netherlands and extremely rare.
In the New Style
Although Bert Nienhuis was a ceramist and designer by profession, he designed a series of jewelry in the New Style during the period 1905–1910, commissioned by the Amsterdam jewelry house Hoeker & Zn. The executor was the goldsmith Louis van Kooten. Between 60 and 75 pieces of his series of brooches, necklaces, and bracelets were produced at that time.
According to the late Marjan Unger (jewelry historian and author of, among others, the extensive book *Het Nederlandse Sieraad in de twintigste eeuw*), the series of jewelry is considered the pinnacle of the Dutch Art Nouveau, and his jewelry is therefore important for the history of Avant-Garde jewelry in the Netherlands. Nienhuis was a contemporary of, among others, Jan Eisenloffel and Frans Zwollo senior, and he collaborated with the architect Lauweriks.
In her book, Unger describes a similar brooch: “One of my favorites is located in the collection in Darmstadt; the composition with the lobed quatrefoil is built around a round opal, and bright green enamel has been used for the intersecting lines and the small ornaments in the shape of three leaves. Small openings have been cut out in the outer lobes, creating a beautiful transition from the brooch to the garment on which it was intended to be worn. Four small diamonds accentuate the central role of this pin.” *
Gold medal at the Brussels World’s Fair
In 1910, the Hoeker Firm submitted a number of his jewelry pieces to the World’s Fair in Brussels, where his designs were awarded a gold and a silver medal. A year later, his designs were on display at the Stedelijk Museum. Nienhuis received glowing reviews, but unfortunately, Dutch women were not ready for such modern jewelry. The work remained virtually unsold at the Hoeker Firm. Eventually, a large part of the collection ended up with the estate of Louis van Kooten and was sold in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
Where can you see the work of Bert Nienhuis?
A small collection of his jewelry can be seen at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Meentwijck Collection in Bussum, and the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt, Germany.
*quote: p. 58, Marjan Unger, *Het Nederlandse Sieraad in de 20ste eeuw*, and also the source of this article.
