Frank Taira - Vintage Handmade Carnelian Slice Sterling Silver Pendant

Frank Taira (1913–2010) was a San Francisco-born artist of Japanese descent who earned a scholarship to the California School of Fine Arts in the 1930s and was beginning to show his work publicly when World War II brought everything to a halt, he was forcibly removed to the Tanforan and Topaz internment camps along with tens of thousands of other Japanese-Americans. Even there he continued to teach at the Topaz Art School alongside Chiura Obata and Mine Okubo, and won best portrait at a 1943 exhibition of interned Japanese-American artists. After the war he settled in New York, studied at Columbia University and the Art Students League, and went on to exhibit paintings regularly for decades. He also worked as a jeweler during those years, making and selling pieces by hand.

Handcrafted in sterling silver with a polished natural carnelian slice held by flat prong tabs, the piece has a dark, oxidized patina that gives it real age and presence.. A quietly personal object from an artist with a long and serious career.

1 3/4 x 1 3/8"

13.5g

Marked "STERLING TAIRA"