New The Met Store Bella Donna Statement Necklace

Art jewelry inspired by The Met collection.

In Giovanni Battista Gaulli’s (Il Baciccio’s) (Italian, 1639–1709) sumptuous Portrait of a Woman (ca. 1670s), a doe-eyed subject is decked out in splendid jewels. They wrap around her luxurious garment and she plays with one that’s fastened to the front of her dress, lending a sense of immediacy and movement to her picture. Gaulli is said to have encouraged his subjects to move around naturally so that he could more accurately breathe life into their likenesses—a practice adopted from the great Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Made in collaboration with the label Ben-Amun, founded by jewelry designer Isaac Manevitz, this striking necklace evokes the unknown sitter’s marvelous jewelry for the modern-day sophisticate.

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