Jewelry design

Béla Krieger enjoyed a general succes in 1884 with his etchings made for the catalogue of the Goldsmiths' Exhibition in Budapest, although it revealed only his abilities of precise observation and authentic imitation. His own, individual artistic world was developed later, with his slightly grotesque, artistic sketches. Among them there are plenty of jewellery designs but in this case, the friction of belt buckles, pendants and hairpins plays only a secondary role. The stress is on the excessively coiling motifs-well-known and popular, yet unusual in his individual interpretation. On his designs, the calm butterflies almost fly away; the snakes with their precious stone eyes fascinate the audience. The dynamic, moving shapes are coupled with bright colours. Krieger's art had significant success in Paris: the Guérinet company published one-hundred and thirty of his designs similar to (and including) the exhibited ones, with the title “La Chimere et l'Animal et leur application omamentale á l'art du bijou”.