Bezoar
The inspiration for this object was a visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where I saw the collections of Rudolph II. and bezoars set in artfully decorated gold cases like jewels. In bygone times, the bezoar stone (a body formed in the stomach of cattle from indigestible food) was believed to have magical powers and was used, for example, as an antidote or to ward off evil spirits. I decided to create such a bezoar.
The Bezoar object from 2011 is made by casting a small bundle of thuja twigs in silver using the lost wax technique, which preserves even
the smallest detail of nature. Thus a sort of egg carton-shaped encasing was created. I then looked for a crystal to fit inside. I discovered a
unique iron crystal with elements of iron in the stone that cause its coloration to be reddish and resemble the color of a bezoar.
material: silver Ag 925/1000, iron crystal
weight: 274g of silver
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Hanuš Lamr's metal objects are inspired exclusively by nature. With the enthusiasm of an explorer, he brings into focus the delicate shape
of flowers, twigs and other natural objects which, cast in metal, reveal their finest details. The task of the artist is not to succumb to the
temptation to improve upon a natural design, but to be guided by its structure, and, with a sense of respect for its immutable perfection, to
render a coda. Rather than jewelry in the traditional sense of the word, these objects are a kind of sacrament. He immerses fragile
honeycombs, dry leaves, fruits and twigs or swollen chestnut blossoms in wax, then casts them in silver or bronze. The original model burns
away during casting, so each result is unique, without the possibility of replication. Fragile metal artefacts are created, conjoined in a surreal
fusion, sometimes supplemented with glass shards or stones. Hanuš Lamr transforms leftover fragments of authentic natural materials into
relics embodying the age-old, futile desire to immortalize the ephemeral, to touch the untouchable: intactum tangere.
text: Terezia Zemánková