Broche van koper met ovaal cabochon geslepen groene paste c. 1920 - 1930

This copper brooch with a green paste inlay, made by Conrad Fehn, looks like a flattened leaf. It’s so handmade, you can almost feel the metalworker, coaxing the copper into shape, pressing those little leaf veins with such care. I like to imagine Fehn at his workbench, the smell of metal and polish filling the air. What was he thinking as he hammered and filed? Was he trying to capture a fleeting moment of beauty from nature, to preserve its memory? Or was he just thinking about the next meal, a deadline, or a lover? Look how the green stone is held in place, those tiny prongs, like little grasping hands. They have a tenderness and delicacy. Making something by hand is an act of love, but also an act of hope, that we can touch another human being through an object. It’s like when you see a painting by a favorite artist, and you think, "I get it." We are all of us, as makers, just talking to each other across time.