Beautiful Woman Art Nouveau Copper retailer Pin

Solid copper brooch in an Art Nouveau classic made by hand in my studio. To craft these pins I use designs originally carved over 100 years ago that have been pressed into steel. By pressing copper into the die under tons of pressure with repeated trimming and annealing.

The steel carving for this was derived from a match safe from years gone by. There was a time when matches were a semi magical precious commodity and so many wonderful sculpted designs were made to craft metal boxes to hold them. The phosphors were not too stable and sensitive to damp as well as friction and combustion. While we no longer produce match safes, these artistic pieces are wonderful and worthy of preservation.

Hand retailer sawn, formed and polished. This pin is about 40 mm wide, 54 mm long. I love these wonderful turn of the last century designs.

The pin back is nickel and an antique finish was flame applied. The patina has been waxed, but all such finishes are not permanent.