Kunio Nakajima Jewellery Garden

Jewellery collection of precious metals and stones “In the Garden” by Japanese master Kunio Nakajima of more than 80 works of exceptional beauty – dragonflies, berries, mushrooms, flowers – the designer presented in person at the Museum of Applied Arts in Moscow three years ago.
In the middle of the Taisho era (1918-1920), his grandfather began working as an apprentice in the workshop of Nakajima. Born into a family jeweler, in his childhood, Kunio Nakajima played in the studio and therefore had become well acquainted with the jewellery art. Several people were sitting cross-legged behind a desk and blowing glass … These memories forever remained in the heart of Japanese jeweler Kunio Nakajima. For a boy who grew up in such an environment, it was natural to love manual work when hands and professional tools could create anything.

“The moment you hear the wind playing in the tree tops, you feel your life is in the surrounding greenery. Fearlessly through the air, flying over flooded with sunlight plateaus and hidden in the shade of large trees Japanese dragonfly. Finally, I was able to realize an ephemeral design of a dragonfly, on which I worked for many years. Openwork wings made of cloisonne enamel, red copper body, compound eyes of enamel – thus the material and technique of merged into one.”
Kunio Nakajima.

Kunio Nakajima doesn’t refer to any particular garden, but to the notion of nature as such. For Japanese, nature is very important, they still live in close coordination with it. When the jeweler started to think about a basis of his work, he was struck by the images that stay with him since childhood.

Jewellery collection “In the Garden” decorated with hot enamel, made in the ancient Japanese technique of “Shippo”, in which worked Japanese classics of enamel art of the late XIX century. Kunio Nakajima was inspired by the style of the great masters of Art Nouveau: Faberge, Tiffany, Lalique. Designs by Japanese enameler Kunio Nakajima are based on the motifs of the world of plants and insects made in true Japanese way. In his art the master jeweler uses gold, diamonds, precious stones. Works by Kunio Nakajima have a special nostalgic spirit, so rare in the products of modern masters.

His dragonflies, berries, mushrooms – works of exceptional beauty. Subtle insight into the symbolism of natural aesthetics, fragility, inimitable existence of these colors, elusive beauty that makes the heart beat. How little of this has remained in our asphalt jungle …

facebook.com/Nakajimamoscow