The first female US Secretary of State, an avid wearer of brooches, is the motivation for a new exhibit here at the American Craft Museum.

``Brooching it diplomatically,'' says its creators, supports the idea that ``jewellery can go beyond limits of ornament'' to ``satisfy greater aesthetic and political ideas.''

Albright is not one for which the phrase `subtle gesture' comes to mind.

But while she is most famous for her tough-talking negotiating style, she has also become known for sending messages through her elaborate brooch collection.

After being called a serpent in the Iraqi press during a skirmish with Iraq, Albright -- then US representative to the United Nations -- wore a snake brooch to a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.

A dove was pinned to her shoulder during the latest round of Middle East talks.

Philadelphia art dealerHelen Drutt English got her inspiration for the exhibit from a 1997 Time Magazine article, which examined the secretary's practice of announcing her views through the brooches she wore.

``She obviously trusts her instincts and has the confidence to herald her negotiating stand to the whole world with her brooches,'' Drutt writes of Albright in the exhibit's catalogue.

``Knowing that she is in a position of power, she puts her sensibilities to the test.''

Drutt invited artists around the world to create a brooch in tribute to Albright, and her recognition of the power of brooches as historical commentary.

She also contacted the State Department and Albright, who agreed to pose for the catalogue's cover wearing one of the exhibit's creations -- the head of the Statue of Liberty with two clocks for eyes.

Sixty-one artists from sixteen countries responded with pins designed specifically for a woman of Albright's prominence in diplomatic circles.

``Madeleine Albright uses jewellery as intellectualarmour and as symbolic language,'' Kiff Slemons, a featured American artist, writes in the catalogue. ``In a particular way it is her voice.''

The 71 pins, which can be seen at the museum until August 8, reflect the artists' own experiences, and the stature of the position of Secretary of State.

The Pentagon Windmill and Washington Monument brooches, based on US landmarks, serve as tributes to the power of the United States.

A soybean plant paired alongside a hand scatting seeds symbolise responsibility and obligation for the world's last superpower.

Other brooches are billed as metaphorical, such as a sterling silver scissors to ``cut through conscience,'' or a lightening bolt to ``act as a conduit for rational thinking.''

Some creations were designed with humour in mind. Punch (A Change of Mind) is a flat gold plate on which a fist is punching a man's head.

American artist Daniel Jocz saw diplomacy as a form of ``verbal punching,'' with Albright as the person ``able to deliver the ultimatepunch.''

Friendship was also a dominant theme.

Australian artist Pierre Cabalan used semi-precious stones along with Australian gems for `Her Master's Voice,' a pin bearing an emblem from the Grand Order of the Australian-American Friendship.

Several artists didn't pass up the chance to make a political statement, on issues from Middle East peace and the practice of female genital mutilation.

Albright could wear the brooch which comments on mutilation when she visited cultures which still practice this custom, US designer Merrily Tompkins suggested.

More quizzical was the `Portrait of a Lady,' brooch, which shows the head of a woman wearing the American flag.

In her coiffed hairdo sits a Capitol building floating in outer space, while a bee sits on top of the globe.