Emblems of Fervor

Cro-Magnon man hung a boar's tooth around his neck to ward off evil spirits. Twentieth century woman complements her Gernreich with bangles to draw attention to the flesh beneath. Medieval and Renaissance lords and ladies lived between the two extremes. As God-fearing Christians, they embellished their wardrobes with sumptuous crucifixes and jeweled pendants rich with Christian imagery. Such emblems indulged the wearer's vanity, but also made manifest his faith.

Some of the marvels fashioned by the craftsmen of those eras could be seen last week at Sotheby's in London, where 142 objects from the collection of the late Melvin Gutman went on view (see color). Gutman was a strange man. Son of a Wall Street stockbroker, he made a fortune in the stock market, and at the age of 29 conceived a passion for antique jewelry. He never married, and for the last 34 years of his life he never strayed far from his Manhattan apartment. When he died last year at the age of 81, he had amassed an almost unequaled collection of some 2,000 examples of the jeweler's skills.

His prizes ranged backward to an Egyptian diadem and forward to an Art Nouveau silver clip. But his heart was closest to the Renaissance and the lovingly fashioned objects it produced. A brilliantly enameled South German panel, dated circa 1530, that vividly portrays Christ being mocked on the road to Calvary, was either part of a pax, to be used by priests during the Mass, or else decorated a reliquary in a church or a monastery.

None of the religious baubles designed to be worn are signed. Jewelry has always been regarded as craft rather than art. Even countries of origin are sometimes difficult to tell. From the mid-16th century onward, pattern books were published showing the latest styles in jewelry, and workshops serving kings and dukes in every country copied one another. In addition, rival princelings lured master craftsmen from each other's shops. It is often easy to see why. The Italian craftsman who intaglio-cut the crucified Christ in rock crystal on one classically simple 16th century pectoral cross incised each rib in the sinewy torso.

The finely detailed 16th century crucifix with figures of Christ and the thieves is similar to another crucifix and house altar made in Bavaria during the reien of its devout Albrecht V for his official Munich residence. On the other hand, an enchanting 17th century heart-shaped crystal pendant with the tiny figures of Eve and the serpent, is believed by Parke-Bernet's expert, John Hayward, to be either Italian or Spanish. One of the loveliest gems in the Gutman collection is a 17th century enameled gold votive crown by an anonymous Peruvian goldsmith. It was probably commissioned by a grateful grandee whose prayer to a saint or the Virgin had been answered, and was intended to be reverently set before the saint's altar in some unknown church.

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