Pitsi cufflinks, Pentti Sarpaneva, .830 silver, order 11 grams, Torun Hopea, Finland, 1960s, Scandinavian Modern, Midcentury Modern, MCM

order This listing is for a pair of “Pitsi” (“Lace”) cufflinks designed by Pentti Sarpaneva (1925-1978) and fabricated by Torun Hopea of Turku, Finland, in 1969.

This pair features 3 overlapping squares of silver “lace” within a polished-silver frame.

The face of each link measures 5/8-inch by 7/8-inch.

The back of each link is signed “p. sarpaneva”, and both stems are fully marked with conjoined TH for Torun Hopea, the Finland country mark, “830H”, Turku city mark, and the date mark of Q7 for 1969.

They weigh 11 grams and are in excellent vintage condition.

Older brother of renowned designer Timo Sarpaneva (1926-2005), Pentti studied graphic design at the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki before taking up metalsmithing and jewelry design in his 30s. Inspired by his childhood in the country with his blacksmith father, his first jewelry, made of enameled hardware store chains, zippers and found objects, was considered barbaric and unwearable. Later in his career, he designed cast-lace work, like these cufflinks, for the Torun Hopea workshop in Turku. For Kalevela Koru in Helsinki, he created commercially successful silver and bronze pendants and cuff links that were inspired by Viking motifs.

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I am not a professional dealer; really, I'm not even a hobbyist seller. I am selling things for a friend who is deaccessioning from his personal collection of sundry items and itemized sundries, and I am happy to forward your questions to him.

We do not accept returns, so all sales are final. Please refer to the description above, and be sure to look at the photos.

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