Pair of brutalist style earrings evoking molten metal, ball pendants, 925th silver, Finland, 1970s
 
Bibliography:
Pendant model from the same collection, reproduced in the bookModern Scandinavian Design, Charlotte and Peter Fiell, Magnus Englund, Laurence King Publishing, London, 2017, pages 532-533. 
 
Pentti Sarpaneva, older brother of Timo Sarpaneva, another renowned Scandinavian designer, creates unique and innovative pieces that marked Scandinavian jewelry in the 1970s. He studied drawing at the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki. His childhood spent with his blacksmith father in the Scandinavian countryside considerably influenced his work. The motifs used by Pentti Sarpaneva transcribe the tormented shape of tree trunks, the bark of dead pines, the harshness of Nordic nature and the embroidered fabrics of Karelia. He initially worked for Kalevala Koru in the 1960s, then took over as artistic director of Turun Hopea (Turku Silver) in 1967. Sarpaneva mainly explored bronze but also silver, gold and raw stones, all found in Finland, like amethyst, rose or smoky quartz. Its design with such a personal language joins the largest international collections and is exported throughout Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark, Norway), but also the United States and Japan. His brutalist style creations reflect a design that is as contemporary as it draws its inspiration from Scandinavian tribal art, between reminiscences of Sami culture and an ode to the modernity of Nordic jewelry.