The drawer in terms of contemporary Jewellery
A drawer offers a form of storage and protection; it could
be used to hide objects away from display of the public as well as being able
to present objects. There a 3 different categories of drawers which
Contemporary jewellery occupies. These categories are; Drawers of museum
collections, collectors/owners and dealers/galleries.
Drawers of museum collections often house collections of
jewellery, usually either of a specific genre example work done by a specific
artist, rings, earrings etc. It encases items that aren’t receiving immediate
attention as well as offering protection from the public. The viewer has to
open the drawer to have a closer look at the article of jewellery as opposed to
a plinth where there is no security.
Drawers of collectors/owners are different in the sense
where the drawer of the owner is regarded as a ‘domestic collection’ and the
drawer of the collector is regarded as an ‘institutional collection’. The
drawer of an owner is usually a multipurpose drawer found in a bedroom/ dressing
room housing the owner’s jewellery as well as other objects such as socks etc.
Collector’s drawers are usually drawers which are designed and manufactured to
house specific items or a specific genre of items (watches, rings, earrings
etc.) to create a collection.
Drawers of dealers/galleries usually contain multiple
articles of jewellery placed together. In my opinion I find it similar to the
drawers of museum collections apart from the fact that in the drawers of dealer/galleries the articles of
jewellery are not necessarily being placed together to create a collection.
These drawers don’t always have to house completed goods, it could also be used
to create an archive of old pieces/ prototypes or even just simply house the
stock of the dealer/gallery.