MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.- The unique designs of master jeweler and Memphis native William Barthlomew are currently on display at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The exhibition includes works made from a variety of materials such as gold, precious and semi-precious stones, and cloisonné.

Bartholomew (1941-1989) earned an MA in art history from John Hopkins before becoming a master jeweler and much of his work is informed by a sincere appreciation of historical paintings and sculpture. This exhibition reveals the range of Bartholomew's talent from African inspired gold bracelets to pendants based on Byzantine icons.

While lecturing on 15th-century art at a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Bartholomew was commissioned to produce replicas of pre-Columbian and African objects for the Nelson Rockefeller Collection. From 1985 to 1989, he worked in Kuwait for Sheikh Nasser and Sheikha Hussa Al Sabah, producing exquisite jewelry.

The objects in the exhibition were in his possession at the time of his death, and are on loan from Anne Bartholomew Steele. Included are unfinished fragments that illustrate the process of jewelry making, and series of pieces that allow us to see how Bartholomew worked out an idea.

From Byzantine Icons to Nefertiti: The Jewelry of William Bartholomew is sponsored by Memphis Chapter, The Links Incorporated, and News Channel 3.