Happy is the man who can recall his fathers with joy,
Who with their deeds and greatness can regale a hearer,
And with quiet pleasure
Beholds himself at the close of that fair succession.
Goethe
Iphigenia in Tauris

Keeping up family tradition is a way of life for Dunedin jeweller Kobi Bosshard. It is his living family tree from which he takes greatest inspiration. Bosshard is one of the country's acknowledged master craft jewellers. In stark contrast to the current work of most contemporary jewellers, the jewellery of Kobi Bosshard exemplifies traditional European craftsmanship.

LINEAGE is a carefully chronicled examination of his professional heritage, showing some of his work alongside that of his father and grandfather. Photographs, drawings and memorabilia illustrate and document the jewellery-making tradition of his family over the last 110 years.

Jacob Bosshard, Kobi's grandfather opened his first shop in Uster, Switzerland in 1895. His son Heinrich took over the business in 1930, expanding it considerably. However his son Kobi broke with tradition and came to New Zealand in 1961 to carry on the family trade. He initially lived and worked in Akaroa with his family, but moved to Dunedin to be nearer the cultural facilities and wider fraternity the larger city afforded. There he opened his landmark gallery and workshop Fluxus in 1983.

Kobi is understandably proud of his family heritage. He feels the above quote from the German philosopher and poet Goethe exemplifies the lives of his father and grandfather, both of whom, as young apprentices, made unbelievable beautiful pieces.

Many of the techniques and intricacies of the jewellery trade which they took for granted have now disappeared, people nowadays are trained in a much narrower way, so that very few craftspeople today have a real repertoire of skills at their disposal, says Kobi.

Although his children are not following him into the trade, Kobi has been instrumental in teaching and encouraging several young graduate jewellers, and in a more formal sense, has continued a lineage by providing well-known jeweller Peter McKay with an apprenticeship.