Archives

Rings that remind me of things: Part 15

Nov18

Part 15 of an occasional series about rings in my Etsy shop that remind me of things.

Ring:

1972 sterling silver modernist ring, London hallmark. For sale.

Thing:

Sea anemone.

So far I have had rings that remind me of an Iron Age hillfort, an alien spaceship, a cream horn, a radio telescope, Noah’s Ark, an octopus tentacle, spider eyes, Pluto and its moon Charon, the rings of Saturn, The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, some lichen, the stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara in Egypt, the Quality Street lady, and a herb knife.

UPDATE: the ring has now sold.

Rings that remind me of things: Part 14

Oct20

Part 14 of an occasional series about rings in my Etsy shop that remind me of things.

Ring:

1974 modernist sterling silver wedge ring, hallmarked in Birmingham. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

Thing:

 

Herb knife.

So far I have had rings that remind me of an Iron Age hillfort, an alien spaceship, a cream horn, a radio telescope, Noah’s Ark, an octopus tentacle, spider eyes, Pluto and its moon Charon, the rings of Saturn, The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, some lichen, the stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara in Egypt, and the Quality Street lady.

Magnus Maximus Designs

Sep29

Magnus Maximus Designs was a short-lived English jewellery company founded by three designers and jewellery makers, Michael Gray Bell, Pauline Diane Bell and Ian Murray Pennell, who worked in Frizington, a village in Cumbria. During its short period of operation, the company produced a range of stylish jewellery, which can be broadly split in to two main types: pieces using flat or rounded cabochons of semi-precious and other hardstones, and those using nuggets of raw crystals and minerals (‘druzy’). The mounts and frames for these pieces were usually plain and unadorned, creating a minimalist, sculptural effect and showcasing the stones perfectly.

Magnus Maximus Designs rings, in sodalite, amethyst, carnelian, jadeite and agate, all for sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery. Click on photo for details. (All rings on middle finger are NOW SOLD).

So far, all the pieces I have seen of theirs are hallmarked between 1971 and 1980. I have seen 1971, 1972 and 1973 Birmingham hallmarks, and 1972 to 1980 inclusive Edinburgh hallmarks, so it looks that they used both Birmingham and Edinburgh Assay Offices for 1972 and 1973, before they decided to change from using Birmingham to Edinburgh. The Edinburgh maker’s mark was registered at the Assay Office there in May 1973, but as it was used on at least one 1972 Edinburgh piece, obviously they were using it before it was registered. I’ve arranged all the Magnus Maximus Designs pieces I have/have sold in date order below:

1971 Magnus Maximus Designs druzy amethyst ring, hallmarked in Birmingham. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

1971 druzy amethyst ring, Birmingham hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery. Click on photo for details.

1971 red stone ring by Magnus Maximus Designs, hallmarked in Birmingham. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1971 sodalite ring with Birmingham hallmark, by Magnus Maximus Designs. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

1972 black druzy crystal or mineral loveheart ring by Magnus Maximus Designs with a Birmingham hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on link for details. (NOW SOLD).

1972 amethyst ring by Magnus Maximus Designs, Birmingham hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1972 amethyst ring by Magnus Maximus Designs, Birmingham hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

1972 jadeite ring by Magnus Maximus Designs, with an Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

1973 carnelian ring by Magnus Maximus Designs, Birmingham hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1973 1974 Magnus Maximus Designs amethyst pendant in the shape of Maltese Cross. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

1973-1974 haematite Maltese Cross pendant by Magnus Maximus Designs, Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1973-1974 iron pyrites druzy ring by Magnus Maximus Designs, hallmarked in Edinburgh. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

1973-1974 druzy copper mineral ring, likely raw malachite, by Magnus Maximus Designs, hallmarked in Edinburgh. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1973-1974 druzy citrine pendant and chain, pendant hallmarked in Edinburgh and made by Magnus Maximus Designs. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1973-1974 sodalite ring with Edinburgh hallmark, by Magnus Maximus Designs. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

1973-1974  jadeite ring by Magnus Maximus Designs, Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1973-1974 tiger’s eye luckenbooth pendant and chain by Magnus Maximus Designs, Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1977 snowflake obsidian heart-shaped pendant by Magnus Maximus Designs, hallmarked in Edinburgh. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1977 tiger’s eye pendant by Magnus Maximus Designs, Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1978 carnelian ring by Magnus Maximus Designs, Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

1978 massive agate slice pendant by Magnus Maximus Designs, hallmarked in Edinburgh. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for detail.

I have an interesting pewter pendant which is marked on the back by hand with their maker’s mark initials. I am certain this is by Magnus Maximus Designs, but have seen no other pewter pieces by them. Stylistically it would fit well win their oeuvre, with a flat cabochon of an agate-like stone, perhaps serpentine, and a bold sculptural frame.

Pewter and hardstone pendant almost certainly by Magnus Maximus Designs. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

The company also made a series of silver pendants and brooches with British wild birds: I have seen a ?dove (see photo below, for sale in my shop), a sea eagle / osprey with a fish it has just caught, and a duck (mallard?).

1978 Magnus Maximus Designs sterling silver bird (?dove) pendant, Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1978 swallow pendant by Magnus Maximus designs, with an Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1980 swallow pendant by Magnus Maximus designs, with an Edinburgh hallmark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

As there seem to be no pieces post-dating 1980, I assume that the company ceased trading in the very early 1980s.

I would love to know more about this company, and what the three designers went on to do. If you have any information, I’m all ears!

Rings that remind me of things: Part 13

Aug15

Part 13 of an occasional series about rings in my Etsy shop that remind me of things.

Ring:

Niels Erik From 1960s rose quartz ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

Thing:

The Quality Street lady. (Bit of a throwback to my childhood Christmases, this one)

So far I have had rings that remind me of an Iron Age hillfort, an alien spaceship, a cream horn, a radio telescope, Noah’s Ark, an octopus tentacle, spider eyes, Pluto and its moon Charon, the rings of Saturn, The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, some lichen, and the stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara in Egypt.

UPDATE: The ring is now sold. Sorry!

Bobbly rings

Jun5

I’ve long had a thing for granulation in silver jewellery, and I love orbs, balls, spheres, domes, bobbles and bubbles in all their forms. So it’s no surprise that I have a few bobbly rings in my Etsy shop right now:

NE From Danish sterling silver bypass bobble ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

Modernist Finnish sterling silver bobble bypass ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

Swedish modernist ring, imported to London in 1970. This one has a little silver ball inside that tinkles around. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1970 brutalist Finnish 930 silver ring by Valon Kulta & Hopea of Turku, Finland. Love the granulation on this! For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD.)

Bengt Hallberg (Sweden) sterling silver bypass ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Modernist sterling silver ring in a Georg Jensen style. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1960s sterling silver jester ring by Anna Greta Eker. Eker was Finnish but worked in Norway, and is regarded as one of the greats of Scandinavian/Nordic silver design.

NE From sterling silver ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery. Click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

1950s sterling silver ring by John Lauritzen of Copenhagen. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photos for details.

Here’s an earlier post with a few more granulated pieces I’ve since sold, plus an interesting video showing how the bobbles are made.

A pair of old watercolours

May30

One of my charity shop finds last year was this pair of watercolours in their basic wooden frames.

I’d love to know a bit more about them. They are crudely done, and are not signed. I wonder if they belonged to some countryman, maybe a farmer: a portrait of him and his fine and faithful hounds. I had thought that the fashion of the man’s clothing and the type of gun might help me date the paintings, which are clearly a pair, but … apparently the fashions of country people back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries often lagged quite a few years behind city fashions. This is perhaps partly due to financial constraints, and also largely due to opportunities to buy new clothes being few and far between in the days before easy transport, plus even the dissemination of fashionable new ideas for local seamstresses to copy took much longer. So wearing decades-old clothes was not unheard of, and likewise the expense of buying a new gun might mean that a perfectly serviceable old one was carried on in use for years.

I’m not a fan of bloodsports in any way, shape or form, so like to tell myself that this gentleman was shooting for his pot.

I’m getting a very late eighteenth or early nineteenth century vibe off the paintings … but what do I know? If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear!

Having the blues (in a very good way)

Apr29

Every now and then in my Etsy shop I notice I seem to have a lot of jewellery in a particular style, or by a particular maker, or in a particular colour. And the other day I realised I seem to have accumulated a lot of blue jewellery.

Blue jewellery in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery.

Sadly none of the stones is a sapphire: blue glass, sodalite, turquoise and chalcedony, plus wonderful blue enamel on the Joid’art ring at bottom left. I haven’t listed everything yet, and two of the brooches are already spoken for, but just today I put the wonderful NE From sodalite ring in my shop. I don’t expect it’ll hang around for long …

NE From sodalite and sterling silver modernist ring. Could it be any bluer? Click on photo for details.

Rings that remind me of things: Part 12

Apr16

Part 12 of an occasional series about rings in my Etsy shop that remind me of things.

Ring:

Art Deco green paste ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Thing:

The stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, Egypt.

So far I have had rings that remind me of an Iron Age hillfort, an alien spaceship, a cream horn, a radio telescope, Noah’s Ark, an octopus tentacle, spider eyes, Pluto and its moon Charon, the rings of Saturn, The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and some lichen.

UPDATE: The ring is now sold. Sorry!

Some of my Arts and Crafts jewellery

Oct28

I have a few pieces of British Arts and Crafts jewellery in my shop right now. When I started selling jewellery I had hoped to sell nothing but Arts and Crafts jewellery, but it proved far harder to come by than I had naïvely thought – it is very collectable and so pieces get snapped up quickly and often at prices that are beyond me. I have been lucky to get my hands on a few pieces, though.

Some of the British Arts and Crafts pieces in my Etsy shop.

Some of the British Arts and Crafts pieces in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery. Click on photo for further details of Arts and Crafts (and Arts and Crafts style or inspired) pieces I have for sale.

Arts and Crafts amethyst ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Arts and Crafts amethyst ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

Lovely Arts and Crafts ring, for sale in my Etsy shop. Click on photo for details.

Lovely Arts and Crafts ring, for sale in my Etsy shop. Click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

Zoltan White & Co Arts and Crafts bloodstone ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Zoltan White & Co. Arts and Crafts bloodstone ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Arts and Crafts Liberty or Liberty-style blister pearl brooch. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photos for details.

Arts and Crafts Liberty or Liberty-style blister pearl brooch. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photos for details.

Huge seven stone amethyst Late Arts and Crafts ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Huge seven stone amethyst Late Arts and Crafts ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Arts and Crafts blister pearl and sterling silver necklace. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Arts and Crafts blister pearl and sterling silver necklace. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

Late Arts and Crafts sterling silver brooch, in a letter P, by William Hair Haseler, and hallmarked in 1930.

Late Arts and Crafts sterling silver brooch in a letter P, by William Hair Haseler, and hallmarked in 1930. (NOW SOLD).

Late Arts and Crafts art glass and sterling silver floral ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Late Arts and Crafts art glass and sterling silver floral ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

 

Rings that remind me of things: Part 11

Oct5

Part 11 of an occasional series about rings in my Etsy shop that remind me of things.

Ring:

x

Vintage enamel and sterling silver ring by Joid’art of Barcelona, Spain. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Thing:

capture

Lichen Xanthoria parietina. Photo by James Lindsey at Ecology of Commanster.

UPDATE: The ring is now sold. Sorry!

So far I have had rings that remind me of an Iron Age hillfort, an alien spaceship, a cream horn, a radio telescope, Noah’s Ark, an octopus tentacle, spider eyes, Pluto and its moon Charon, the rings of Saturn, and The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.