Frog Labyrinth

Kevin Coates, artist

born 1950

Frog Labyrinth, 1980

Where object was made: England, United Kingdom

Material/technique: carving; silver; titanium; moonstone; gold

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 6.7 x 6.4 x 0.7 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 2 5/8 x 2 1/2 x 0 1/4 in

Credit line: Gift of Robert A. Hiller in honor of his friends Kevin Coates and Nel Romano Coates

Accession number: 2013.0086

Not on display

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Label texts

Spencer Museum of Art Highlights

After being asked to illustrate the children’s book “Tuck Everlasting,” Kevin Coates created this jeweled brooch. Coates writes, “This frog, like the toad in Natalie Babbitt’s delightful ‘Tuck Everlasting,’ contemplates an infinitely repeated pattern of existence.” Indeed, the frog seems to peer into the very precipice of infinity, complete with arrows leading the way. On the opposite side of the brooch, more arrows direct the frog’s golden footprints towards the center, where a six-sided pyramid of carved moonstone gently glows. You can view other images of this work in the full object record.

Exhibition Label:
"Material World: Adornment from Around the Globe," Jun-2014
“Winnie smiled. Then she stooped and put her hand through the fence and set the toad free. ‘There!’ she said. ‘You’re safe. Forever.’” -Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting

Coates was originally asked to illustrate the children’s book Tuck Everlasting, instead however, he created a jeweled brooch that evolved out of his pleasure in reading Babbitt’s text. Coates writes, “This frog, like the toad in Natalie Babbitt’s delightful Tuck Everlasting, contemplates an infinitely repeated pattern of existence.” Indeed, the frog seems to be situated at the very precipice of infinity, complete with arrows leading the way. On the opposite side of the brooch, more arrows direct the frog’s golden footprints towards the center where a six-sided pyramid of carved moonstone gently glows.

by Laura Minton
Sloan Intern, Print Room