Bracelet c. 1940

This silver bracelet with turquoise stones was made by Roscoe Navasie, and it just sings to me of long hours of labour. I just love how the stones are arranged on the three rows that run across the band. They bring to mind for me the work of Agnes Martin – her grids, her fields of quiet, meditative space. I feel a sense of rhythm, of repetition, of careful decision-making. There’s something lovely in the imperfections, too. The stones are not perfectly aligned, the silver is worn, and that it gives a palpable sense of this having been crafted by a human hand. It suggests use, and warmth, and connection to the earth. Looking at this bracelet, I can't help thinking about the long line of artists who came before, artists who toiled away in their studios, driven by a need to create, to express something essential about the human experience, and to bring a bit of beauty into the world.