In White Face, Leonora Carrington returns to a motif first explored in her 1959 painting Who Art Thou, White Face?, where a pale, frontal visage emerges among the work’s hybrid creatures and esoteric imagery. Rather than functioning as a conventional portrait, the face appears as an enigmatic presence, reflecting Carrington’s longstanding interest in mythology, magic, identity and transformation.
When translated into jewellery, the motif is removed from its painted setting and distilled into a compact sculptural form. Worn directly on the body, the face takes on a more intimate, talismanic character, echoing Carrington’s own description of her jewellery as “small sculptures” and her belief in their protective qualities.

Created in 2010, the brooch belongs to Carrington’s late jewellery collaborations with the Mexico City sculptor and goldsmith José Sacal. During this period, figures familiar from her paintings and sculpture were reimagined on an intimate scale as wearable objects, with careful attention to contour, relief and fine modelling.
The work was produced in two limited editions: an edition of 10 in gold and an edition of 100 in gold-plated sterling silver, with each piece handmade and set with stones. In this format, Carrington’s characteristic imagery becomes both sculptural and personal, extending her exploration of hybrid figures and symbolic relationships into an object designed to be worn..