Figa Brooch
6 1/2 x 3 1/8 x 1 1/8 inchesFiga Brooch, circa 1948
6 1/2 x 3 1/8 x 1 1/8 inches
This work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation, New York, under application number A12870
Provenance
Perls Galleries, New York
The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, acquired from the above, 1968
Christie's, New York, November 19, 2019, Lot 661
Private Collection, New York, acquired from the above, 2019
Literature
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition, Work from 1925-1974, 1974, this Figa Brooch reproduced, n.p.
Calder Jewelry, 2007, Edited by Alexander S. C. Rower and Holton Rower, Yale University Press, similar Figa jewelry reproduced, pages 106-107 and 270.
Calder's Universe , Jean Lipman, The Whitney Museum, The Viking Press, New York, 1980, similar Figa jewelry reproduced, pages 210 and 213.
The Intimate World of Alexander Calder, Danial Marchesseau, Harru N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1989, similar Figa jewelry reproduced, pages 301 and 321
Exhibited
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Alexander Calder: A Retrospective Exhibition, Work from 1925-1974, October-December 1974
Museum Collections
There is a similar Figa Brooch in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In addition, there are four similar Figa works, including Figa Brooch, Figa Fork and two Figa Hair ornaments at the Calder Foundation.
Additional Photos
Detail
Detail
Detail
Detail
Alexander Calder Figa brooch c. 1948, Collection Calder Foundation, New York
The Alexander Calder 1948 Figa brooch, available from Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd., is not only a statement piece of jewelry but also wearable art. The brooch can be worn on a dress or lapel, yet it also stands as a sculptural work, easily displayed in a frame or on a pedestal.
Measuring 6 1/2 inches tall, the Figa Brooch surpasses the size of many miniature Alexander Calder standing mobiles, which are highly desirable and collectible and are often just a few inches tall. This extraordinary brooch boasts an impressive pedigree, having been exhibited in the 1974 Calder Retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Illinois. It was also included in the exhibition checklist of the accompanying catalogue.
ALEXANDER CALDER FIGA BROOCH
The Alexander Calder Figa, a 1948 silver brooch, is a remarkable piece of important Calder jewelry that transcends its functional purpose. Available from Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd., this brooch is both a statement piece and wearable art. Its versatility allows it to be worn on a dress or lapel, while also standing as a sculptural work that can be easily displayed on a pedestal or in a frame.
Measuring 6 1/2 inches tall, the Figa Brooch surpasses the size of many miniature Alexander Calder standing mobiles, which are highly desirable and collectible and are often just a few inches tall. This extraordinary brooch boasts an impressive pedigree, having been exhibited in the 1974 Calder Retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Illinois. It was also included in the exhibition checklist of the accompanying catalogue.
Previously owned by Mr. and Mrs. James Alsdorf, long-time Calder collectors, the Figa Brooch was sold by the Perls Gallery, Alexander Calder’s longtime dealer. Marilyn Alsdorf, a notable figure in the art world, was often seen wearing this brooch around the same time as the photograph. From 1975 to 1978, Mr. Alsdorf held the esteemed position of chairman of the board of the Art Institute of Chicago. Notably, similar Alexander Calder Figa Brooches are reproduced on pages 106–107 of Calder Jewelry, published by Yale University Press in 2007. Another Figa Brooch is currently in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
This extraordinary Figa Brooch from 1948 has an important pedigree. It was exhibited in the 1974 Calder Retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois, and included in the exhibition checklist of the accompanying catalogue. This Figa Brooch was previously sold by Calder’s longtime dealer, the Perls Gallery, and owned by Mr. and Mrs. James Alsdorf, long-time Calder collectors.
Mr. Alsdorf served as chairman of the board of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1975 to 1978. Similar Alexander Calder Figa Brooches are reproduced on pages 106–107 of Calder Jewelry, 2007, Yale University Press; another Figa Brooch is in the Philadelphia Museum.
Esteemed art critic Mark Rosenthal observed in Calder Jewelry, published by Yale University Press in 2007, that the Figa Brooch exemplifies Calder’s innovative approach to jewelry design.
Calder was intrigued with the age-old form of the figa, a Brazilian good luck charm often shaped as a fist with the thumb placed between the index and middle finger. The ancient amulet came to the New World with the African slave trade and remains a symbol of good luck and fertility among Brazilians. When Alexander Calder and his wife Louisa arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1948, Lota de Macedo Soares, a good friend of the couple, encouraged Calder to create sculpture while in Rio. Calder visited a hardware store and purchased a hammer, anvil, tinsnips, sheets of aluminum and steel wire. I hastily took a piece of aluminum sheet and fashioned a figa—the Brazilian good-luck piece...finally I put a wire pin on the figa and gave it to Lota, who often wears it as a barrette.
Calder’s foray into jewelry began in 1929, when he showcased his creations alongside his paintings and sculptures. Initially, he sold his jewelry at remarkably low prices to support himself while establishing his career as a sculptor. Later, Calder dedicated his jewelry-making to his wife and created pieces as gifts for friends, including the wives of renowned artists such as Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp, Luis Buñuel, and Marc Chagall. By the late 1930s, society women began to recognize Calder’s jewelry as “wearable sculpture”—pieces that resonated with avant-garde tastes and were designed to make a bold and dramatic statement.
Notable collectors of Calder’s jewelry included Frances J. Whitney, Georgia O’Keeffe, Peggy Guggenheim, and Mary Rockefeller. It was said that Mary Rockefeller needed “a little elbow room” when she wore her Calder necklace at art openings. In her autobiography, Peggy Guggenheim proudly declared, “I am the only woman in the world who wears his enormous mobile earrings.”
The Calder Foundation estimates that the artist created approximately 1,800 pieces of jewelry during his lifetime. Unlike other 20th-century artists who experimented with jewelry making, such as Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Georges Braque, Man Ray, and Salvador Dalí, Calder refused to produce multiples of his designs. He maintained complete control over each piece, insisting that all jewelry be handcrafted by him personally. Calder often crafted his creations from a single strand of silver or brass wire, using rivets to connect the pieces instead of soldering joints.
Calder once remarked:
I don’t want to ever compete head-on with a jeweler who makes things out of precious materials because it’s a very different thing. They are doing that to enhance the beauty of the wearer to make the stone look fabulous; this is about a statement, they’re really little sculptures…[that] make people think about jewelry in a different way.
Calder’s jewelry has received renewed institutional attention in recent years. Most notably, the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s major 2026 retrospective, Calder. Rêver en équilibre, held from April 15 through August 16, 2026, brought together nearly 300 works spanning Calder’s career. The exhibition included a dedicated presentation of his jewelry, titled Wearable Sculpture. Alongside small bronzes, the jewelry section featured portable sculptures designed to follow the movement of the body, made from brass, copper, steel, gold, and silver wire, sometimes incorporating glass elements. The selection included brooches, necklaces, earrings, rings, and belt buckles, many of them created as sentimental talismans for loved ones, particularly Calder’s wife, Louisa. The presentation underscored Calder’s belief that his jewelry was not simply adornment, but an extension of his sculptural practice—small, intimate sculptures intended to be worn and brought to life through the movement of the body.
