Asteroid

Artist Kevin Coates (English, born 1950)

Date1993

Medium18ct. yellow gold, white gold, turquoise, coral, silver (hat pin); Ebony with gilding and oxidized gold (stand)

DimensionsOverall: 9 3/4 × 1 5/8 × 1 1/2 inches (24.77 × 4.13 × 3.81 cm)
On mount: 11 × 3 3/8 × 2 inches (27.94 × 8.57 × 5.08 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of Robert A. Hiller

Object number2017.36.1,2

SignedSigned: COATES 93 (on the wrist of the hand connecting the head of the pin to the shaft)

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts

Terms

DescriptionGold hatpin atop which sits a large piece of turquoise embedded with gold hands and coral spheres. A single gold hand emerges from the turquoise at the bottom and appears to ‘hold’ the hatpin. A small disc of turquoise adjoined by a red coral branch-like form caps the end of the pin. A single oxidized hand clasps around the central shaft to stabilize the hatpin on an ebony stand, with an additional small connection (to the stand) just above the pinpoint.

The pin extends upwards from the ebony stand approximately 2 inches. The top of the stand is cutout with a circular motif and radiating lines in gold gilt patterning. The gilding extends down the front of the stand echoing the shape of the pin and ending in a single dot on the stepped base. The connecting hand and end cap are outlined in gilt circles.
Provenance

Provenance

Purchased from the Brian Haughton Gallery, London by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2017.

Published References

Goring, Elizabeth, and Kevin Coates. Kevin Coates: A Hidden Alchemy: goldsmithing--jewels and table-pieces. (Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 2008), 270 (repro.).

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