Popular from about 1895-1914, during the French Art Nouveau period, horn jewelry was created by artists at a time when craftsmen sought out innovative materials and designs.  The artists who are highlighted in this exhibition are Elizabeth Bonte and Georges Pierre, who eventually worked together in the same studio.

Horn was chosen as a medium because of its unique range of transparent colourings, durability, and simplicity. Bonte would have obtained these horns from the Jura Mountains, near her workshop in Oyonnax, France. The technique started with bull or mountain goat horns … that were cut into sections, heated with steam and rolled out to form plaques upon which a design was traced. The design was cut out with a handsaw. Its characteristic translucent quality was achieved by soaking the horn in hydrogen peroxide for a day. Rough edge were smoothed and polished. At this point, the horn was dipped into chemicals to attain either a pearly white or beige bloom; dyes were applied to add other colors and stains. The horn was then polished and, finally, details such as veins on an insect’s wings were drawn in with ink. Designs often taken from nature and insects , birds or similar