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3650
The African Elephant is in a race against time.
With as many as 35,000 being poached each year—ten
percent
of the total
population of elephants on the continent of Africa—this magnificent
species may only have ten years (3650 days) left.
GUSTAV MANZ
ELEPHANT BRACELET
Photo Joe Gold & Co
In partnership with the artist’s descendants, Tusk USA is
offering a limited and numbered edition of the elephant bracelet. The
bracelet in sterling is $3650. One-third
of all proceeds will be donated to support an end to the ivory trade.
To
place an order, please contact Meredith Ogilvie-Thompson
(meredith@tusk.org)
*Bracelet
will ship within 4-6 weeks upon receipt of payment.
Artist bio
GUSTAV MANZ (b. 1865 – d. 1946) was born in Stockach, Germany, near the border of Switzerland.
After design school in Baden he studied with master goldsmiths in
Paris, Italy, and London. At 21 he boarded the fast mail-boat from
Southampton to Cape Town, South Africa, and found work in the area’s
diamond and gold mines. He reemerged in Paris in time for the Exposition Universelle of 1889 and absorbed the unique designs
of Rene Lalique and other Art Nouveau artists who
would inspire his own jewelry obsession: fauna and flora in their natural
habitat. After further travel, including an extended trip to Cairo, Egypt,
and the Nile Valley to sketch and assist at tomb excavations, he settled
permanently in New York City. In the early 1920s he moved his workshop to
West 48th Street, opposite today’s Rockefeller Center, remaining at that
location until shortly before his death at 81.
A jeweler’s jeweler, Manz gained a
reputation for his remarkably lifelike animal figures carved in precious
metal. His craftsmanship attracted orders from Tiffany & Co, Black
Starr & Frost-Gorham, Cartier, Raymond C. Yard, and Shreve Crump &
Low, as well as commissions for many artists of the day, including actress
Sarah Bernhardt, sculptor Sally James Farnham,
and tenor Enrico Caruso. His wildlife and Egyptian-themed
pieces were exhibited at arts and crafts shows and at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. An early member of the New York Zoological Society (now
World Conservation Society), Manz befriended the
keepers and spent hours observing and drawing his favorite
animals—bison, panthers, bears, and other large mammals. His
familiarity with their individual physiques and personalities is evident in
this silver cuff depicting elephant mothers and calves walking through a
leafy setting.
Tusk USA Contact
meredith@tusk.org |
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