Eric Gill, The Song of Songs

Jan26

I have always loved Eric Gill‘s work (though revelations in his 1989 biography by Fiona MacCarthy make me not at all keen on the man himself). Gill (1882—1940) was a supremely talented sculptor, typeface designer (Gill Sans is probably his most famous), stonecutter and print maker. His work has a wonderfully sparse, graphic quality, with purity of line and lack of fussy ornamentation and detail.

Gill illustrated a 1925 edition of The Song of Songs, otherwise known as The Song of Solomon from the Old Testament of the Bible, published by the Golden Cockerel Press in a limited run of 750 copies. The Song of Songs is a strange part of the Bible: it is a celebration of erotic, sexual love. Gill was drawn to erotic subjects, and so it is no surprise that he chose The Song of Songs to illustrate.

Eric Gill, woodcut from The Song of Songs, published by the Golden Cockerel Press, 1925.

This piece accompanies the part of the text that reads:

While the King was reclining

mine own spikenard gave out his odour.

A bunch of myrhh is my beloved to me:

he shall rest between my breasts.

A hand-tinted version of the Eric Gill woodcut in an edition of The Song of Songs, published by the Golden Cockerel Press, 1925.

I recently bought a small brass plaque with an image that I didn’t recognise, but a style that I did. A bit of poking about on the internet, and my hunch was confirmed: it was based on an Eric Gill woodcut, specifically one from The Song of Songs.

Brass plaque based on the Eric Gill woodcut in , for sale in my Etsy shop. Click on photo for details.

Brass plaque based on the Eric Gill woodcut in The Song of Songs, published by the Golden Cockerel Press, 1925. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

Another view of the brass plaque based on the Eric Gill woodcut in The Song of Songs, published by the Golden Cockerel Press, 1925. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

I’m not for a moment suggesting that the plaque itself is by Gill, but it is clear whose artwork is depicted in low relief. The ‘Relax’ underneath is also nothing to do with Gill (a shame the makers didn’t use a Gill typeface for it … Bit of a missed opportunity there!)

There is also a lovely hand-coloured Gill woodcut for sale in the FittedFab shop on Etsy at the moment:

Hand-coloured woodcut ‘Angels and Shepherds’ by Eric Gill, 1923. For sale at FittedFab on Etsy: click on photo for details.

Website of the Eric Gill Society.

Pretty in pink

Jan8

I was never a girly girl and so pink isn’t my top colour (give me orange any day). But I have a couple of pieces of rose quartz jewellery in my Etsy shop at the moment that I really, really like: the colour is so delicate and light, and the crystal so clear that I find both immensely appealing.

Skonvirke rose quartz and silver ring. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

I love this Skønvirke ring, which dates from dates from c. 1910—1920. Skønvirke (often anglicised to Skonvirke, and meaning ‘beautiful work’) was a Nordic offshoot of the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements, with its artistic centre in Denmark. Georg Jensen and Evald Nielsen were perhaps its most famous proponents. This ring isn’t signed, but is unmistakably Skønvirke in style, with the free-form globular and organic silver designs on the shoulders of the ring, and the beautiful split collet. Even though it is almost 100 years old, it looks amazingly modern and funky. The natural striations within the quartz add interest and life.

Rose quartz Arts and Crafts pendant necklace, probably German. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

The second piece is an Arts and Crafts pendant necklace, probably made in Germany and dating from just a little earlier than the ring, ie from between 1900 and 1910. It seems likely that originally the necklace had two of the dangling teardrop shaped pendants below the circular cabochon, on single chains of differing lengths, giving an asymmetrical appearance. At some point in the past one of the teardrops was lost, and the necklace reconfigured so that the remaining teardrop hung centrally below the cabochon. There is some damage on one side of the circular cabochon, with fractures, and a crack and chip in the teardrop, but these aren’t too noticeable given the overall striated appearance of the quartz crystal. It is still a very pretty and delicate piece of jewellery, and perfect for someone who loves a piece with a hundred years’-worth of story.

Lovely as they are, I’m not a Barbie Girl just yet. This is as close to pretty in pink as I am likely to get:

The Psychedelic Furs’ 1981 album Talk Talk Talk was one of the soundtracks to my early ’80s …

Filming locations: Wilton House

Nov28

I’ve been meaning to write about Wilton House for a while, but was spurred on today when I sold a little brooch in my Etsy shop. I sent a thank-you notecard with the order, one from a set I’d bought many years ago from the Wiltshire Records Office (as was: now the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre), and the one I chose featured a late 18th century engraving of Wilton House:

Wilton House. Late 18th century engraving, showing the south front of the house on the left and the Palladian Bridge on the right.

(Or perhaps more accurately, an engraving of a couple of lovely trees and a party of people, with a section of Wilton House and the Palladian Bridge lurking in the background.)

I regularly drive past the impressive gates of Wilton House—so regularly that I’ve almost stopped noticing them. Not an easy feat: just look at them! Isn’t it terrible to take something so spectacular so for granted?

The impressive gates to Wilton House. Photo by MrsCommons.

Unlike many of the other grand houses I’ve written about, Wilton House is still a family home, the seat of the Earls of Pembroke for the last 400 years. The first building on the site was a priory founded in c. 871 AD; the first Earl of Pembroke took possession of the site in 1542. Relatively little of the first, Tudor house survives: what is visible today is mostly the Palladian building of the 1630s and 1640s, designed with the involvement of Inigo Jones, and later alterations by James Wyatt in the early 19th century.

The south front of Wilton House. Photo by John Chapman.

Wilton House, south and east fronts. Photo by Henry Kellner.

Wilton House, east front. Photo by Mike Searle.

Wilton House, east front, with the Tudor tower in the centre. Photo by Mike Searle.

The interiors of Wilton House are sumptuous, and among the state rooms designed by Inigo Jones are the Single Cube Room (measuring 30 feet (9.14 m) long, wide and high, and the Double Cube Room, which is 60 feet (18.29 m) long and 30 feet (9.14 m) wide and high.

Wilton House, the Double Cube Room.

The grounds and gardens are beautiful, with one of only a handful of Palladian bridges in the country, built over the River Nadder.

Wilton House, the Palladian Birdge. Photo by Mike Searle.

Wilton House, the Palladian Bridge. Photo by Mike Searle.

Such stunning locations have not surprisingly been used a lot in movie and television filming.

The Music Lovers, directed by Ken Russell (1970), including scenes filmed in the Double Cube Room.
Lady Caroline Lamb (1973), partly filmed at Wilton House.
Romance with a Double Bass (1974), a John Cleese short feature, has scenes filmed in the Double Cube Room.
Barry Lyndon, directed by Stanley Kubrick (1975), includes scenes set at Castle Hackton, and filmed in the Double Cube Room.
The Bounty (1984) uses the Double Cube Room to represent the Admiralty building for the court martial of Captain Bligh for the loss of the Bounty.
The Blackadder II (1986) episode “Bells” features the Palladian bridge and gardens, and the end titles of all episodes from the second series were filmed in the parterre.
The Madness of King George (1994) features scenes shot in the Double Cube Room: the concert with the bell-ringers, and two later scenes with the Prince of Wales.
The 1995 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility has a London ballroom scene, filmed at Wilton House.
Mrs Brown (1997) has scenes filmed in the Double Cube Room, again portraying the interior of Windsor Castle.
The 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice has interior scenes set at Pemberley that were filmed at Wilton House (Chatsworth House was used for external shots).
Beau Brummell: This Charming Man, a 2006 television drama, contained scenes filmed at Wilton House.
The Young Victoria, a 2009 film about the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign, has scenes filmed at Wilton House.

There is a much more comprehensive list on the Wilton House website location filming page.

A scene from Pride and Prejudice filmed at Wilton House in the Double Cube Room.

Update 10 August 2015: I’ve just learned that the television series Outlander has just finished two weeks’ filming at Wilton House, which is standing in for the Palace of Versailles. Apparently the British furniture and furnishings were moved out, and appropriate French ones were moved in for the duration of the filming. Plus the candle budget was £1000 a day! Simon Callow was one of the actors.

Vikings ahoy!

Nov26

December 2016 update: I always seem to have Viking ship jewellery in my shop. Click here to see the current selection.

More by accident than design—and a very happy accident at that—I have three Viking ship brooches in my Etsy shop at the moment. I think they show longships, as opposed to the other kinds of Viking sea-going vessels.

Fabulous David-Andersen Viking ship brooch, dated to between 1924 and 1939, for sale in my Etsy shop. Click on photo for details.

Fabulous David-Andersen Viking ship brooch, dated to between 1924 and 1939. For sale in my Etsy shop: click photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

The jewel in the crown is an exquisite silver and enamel brooch by the renowned Norwegian firm of David-Andersen. The craftsmanship in this piece is stunning, and shows why David-Andersen enamelwork is so highly thought of.

The brooch can be dated quite closely to between 1924 and 1939, as the combination of 925 (sterling) silver and a particular form of the maker’s mark for the company was only used in this period. This brooch design is rarely seen and so is highly collectable.

The second Viking ship brooch dates from 1946 and was made by the Birmingham firm of Shipton and Co. It is solid sterling silver and was hallmarked in Chester (I wonder why a Birmingham firm didn’t send their silver to the Birmingham Assay Office to be hallmarked, rather than the Chester one?). It is very reminiscent of the popular Iona silver Celtic-style jewellery, made famous by designer Alexander Ritchie:

For sale in my Etsy shop. Click photo for details.

Sold sterling silver Viking ship brooch, made by Shipton & Co of Birmingham and hallmarked 1946 in Chester. For sale in my Etsy shop: click photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

The third brooch is also the youngest one: it was made by famous silversmith Malcolm Gray of the Ortak silversmithing firm on the Orkney Islands, and hallmarked at the Edinburgh Assay Office in 1981:

Sterling silver Viking longship brooch by Malcolm Gray of Ortak, hallmarked Edinburgh 1981. For sale in my Etsy shop: click photo for details. (NOW SOLD). September 2015 update: I have another of these for sale, also from 1981. Click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

This brooch is also solid sterling silver. The hallmarks and Gray’s maker’s mark are tiny, and barely visible among the textured dimples on the back of the brooch. The choice of subject matter is a fitting one, for the Vikings were an integral part of the history of these islands. The people of the Shetland Islands, north of the Orkneys, remember their Viking heritage every year with the Up Helly Aa festivals, and one day Chap and I are going to make it up there to see the festivities.

Update 22 June 2015: I have a new Viking ship brooch, by Aksel Holmsen of Norway, and dating from the 1930s:

Viking ship brooch in 830 silver, by Aksel Holmsen of Norway. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

Malcolm Gray Ortak sterling silver Viking ship brooch, 1975. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

September 2015 update. A couple more Viking ship brooches:

A Shetland Silvercraft brooch from 1968:

Sterling silver Viking ship brooch by Shetland Silvercraft, 1968. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

and a tiny mystery:

Tiny enamel and sterling silver Viking brooch. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photos for details. (NOW SOLD).

And finally, I just had to end with a clip from a great Saturday tea-time favourite film of mine when I was a kid: The Vikings (1958), starring Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh and Ernest Borgnine.

Jessie M King, Arts and Crafts jewellery designer

Nov6

Jessie Marion King (1875—1949) was a Scottish designer and illustrator. She is perhaps best known for her work as a book illustrator, mostly of children’s books, but her many and varied skills included bookbinding, the decoration of ceramics and tiles, and book cover, wallpaper, textile and jewellery design. I love her jewellery designs so decided to write a short piece about her: her Wikipedia page focuses solely on her book illustrating career so I thought I’d try to fill the gap a little. If you want to know more about her book illustrations, here is a good starting point. But I am here for the jewels!

Jessie M King by J. Craig Annan (autochrome, 1908).

Jessie M King by James Craig Annan (autochrome, 1908).

Jessie enjoyed a successful career teaching and illustrating books and book covers, but as multi-talented and artistic people are often wont to do, she worked just as successfully in several other disciplines. From what I can gather, she first worked for Liberty in the very early 1900s designing wallpaper and fabrics, with commissions to design jewellery and silverwork for Liberty’s Cymric range following soon afterwards. She designed the jewellery but did not make it – that was undertaken by jewellers employed by Liberty.

Jessie’s jewellery designs can be broadly split into two types: pieces made with silver and enamel, often in quite large panels, only very occasionally with a freshwater pearl dangle, and generally more “Art Nouveauy” in feel:

Jessie M King design: silver and enamel pendant necklace and chain, dating from 1905. Made for Liberty & Co, its design is in the Liberty Pattern Book, no 8809. In the collections of the National Museums of Scotland.

Jessie M King design: silver and enamel pendant necklace and chain, dating from 1905. Made for Liberty & Co, its design is in the Liberty Pattern Book, model 8809. In the collections of the National Museums of Scotland.

Pendant necklace of silver, enamel and mother of pearl, designed by Jessie Marion King for Liberty & Co, 1904-1906. Collection of Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, UK.

Pendant necklace of silver, enamel and mother of pearl, designed by Jessie M King for Liberty & Co, 1904-1906. Collection of Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, UK.

Silver and enamel buckle, designed by Jessie M King for Liberty & Co.

and those made with precious metals (often just gold, or gold with silver, or just silver), precious and semi-precious stones and/or pearls, and only small areas of enamel detailing, which are generally more “Arts and Craftsy” in feel:

Jessie M King brooch design for Liberty & Co. Gold, moonstone and enamel. Liberty model number 1800. Sold by Tadema Gallery.

Jessie M King design for Liberty & Co. Gold, moonstone and enamel brooch. Liberty model number 1800. Sold by Tadema Gallery.

Jessie M King design for Liberty & Co. Gold, silver, enamel and chrysoprase ring. Sold by Tadema Gallery.

Jessie M King enamel and blister pearl pendant. The drop is a later replacement. Sold by HomeFarmCottage on Etsy.

Jessie M King design for Liberty & Co. Gold, sapphire, moonstone and green enamel necklace. Sold by Van Den Bosch.

Jessie Marion King for Liberty & Co. Gold, enamel and amethyst pendant, c. 1900. H: 5.5 cm (2.17 in) W: 2.2 cm (0.87 in) British, c.1900 Fitted Case Minor repair to enamel Literature: cf. Liberty Jewellery sketch-book, page 290 Model number: 8603

Jessie M King design for Liberty & Co. Gold, enamel and amethyst pendant. Liberty model number 8603. Sold by Tadema Gallery. Shows both of her common enamel motifs, the bud and the ‘lily of the valley’/three pointed flower.

Jessie M King for Liberty & Co. Silver, pearl and enamel pendant. Liberty model number 9257. Sold by Tadema Gallery.

Jessie M King moonstone and enamel necklace, for sale at Tennants Auctions.

Jessie M King (attrib). Silver, citrine and enamel pendant. For sale at VictoriaSterling at Etsy (click on photo for details).

Jessie M King design (attrib). Silver, citrine and enamel pendant. For sale at VictoriaSterling at Etsy (click on photo for details).

Jessie M King for Liberty & Co. Moonstone, enamel and silver pendant. Sold at Tadema Gallery.

Jessie M King design for Liberty & Co. Moonstone, enamel and silver pendant. Sold at Tadema Gallery.

Jessie M King design for Liberty & Co. A Glasgow School gold and sapphire necklace, Liberty Pattern Book model 8498. Sold by Van Den Bosch.

Her colour palette is overwhelmingly blue, green and purple. I have to add this is my personal take on her jewellery and I am no expert!

The Liberty Pattern Book holds many of her original designs, each one numbered.

Some of Jessie M King's jewellery designs in the Liberty book.

Some of Jessie M King’s jewellery designs in the Liberty Pattern Book, with model number. Pattern 8605 (bottom right of the drawings) is shown in its realised form below.

Jessie M King design for Liberty & Co. Gold, amethyst and enamel pendant. Liberty Pattern Book 8605.

Jessie M King design for Liberty & Co. Gold, amethyst and enamel pendant. Liberty Pattern Book model 8605, shown above.

UPDATE 10 November 2015: Last Sunday’s Antiques Roadshow featured a necklace that I am 100% certain was designed by Jessie, although it was not identified as such. I grabbed a few screenshots and wrote a blog post on the necklace, with illustrations of other, similar design by Jessie.

A brief biography:

Jessie was born in New Kilpatrick, near Bearsden in Dunbartonshire, and studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1892. Here she was influenced by, and later herself influenced the world famous Glasgow Style, a development of Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements. While at the School she was a member of what was later known as the “Glasgow Girls” group of female artists, and met and formed lifelong friendships with artists such as Helen Paxton Brown and Mary Thew.

Jessie was an award-winning student, and in 1899, the same year that she graduated, she was appointed Tutor in Book Decoration and Design at the School of Art, where she continued to teach until 1908. Her first commissions were for book covers, with book illustrations following in 1902, and it was around 1904 that she started to design fabrics for the famous firm of Liberty & Co. of London and just a little later jewellery, also for Liberty.

She embarked on a study tour of Italy and Germany in 1902, and the next year became a committee member of the Glasgow Society of Artists. In 1905 she joined the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists. Her first solo exhibitions were at the Bruton Street Gallery in London in 1905 and at the studio of T and R Annan (Annan’s Gallery) in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, in 1907.

Glasgow School of Art, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Photo by Ad Meskens.

After a ten year engagement, in September 1909 Jessie married the artist E A (Ernest Archibald) Taylor, and moved with him to Salford where he worked designing for the firm of George Wragge Ltd. Here their only child, Merle Elspeth, was born. The family moved to Paris in 1910, again for Ernest’s career as he had gained a teaching position at Ernest Percyval Tudor-Hart’s studios. In 1911 Jessie and Ernest set up their own art teaching school, the Shealing Atelier. While in Paris Jessie met and was influenced by artists including Henri Matisse, Marie Laurencin, Théophile Steinlen, John Duncan Fergusson, and Samuel Peploe; she also learned the art of batik. The couple ran summer schools on the Isle of Arran in Scotland.

The progress of World War I meant that Jessie and her family had to return to Scotland in 1915, and they settled in Kirkcudbright, at Greengate, a house on the High Street Jessie had bought in 1907 before she was married, and where she was to live for the rest of her life.

Jessie M King and E A's house, Greengate, in Kircudbright. The entrance to the 'Greengate Close' is through the open gate on the right.

Jessie M King and E A Taylor’s house, Greengate, in Kirkcudbright. The entrance to the ‘Greengate Close’ is through the open gate on the right.

Jessie and Ernest gathered artists around them, and an artists’ colony known as the “Greengate Close Coterie” became established in the cottages along an alley behind their home. Friends and visiting artists would stay, sometimes for extended periods, and “according to Robert Burns, of Edinburgh College of Art, no student’s training was complete without a stay in one of the cottages at their home, Greengate.” The cottages in the Close were known by the colour of their front doors.

Jessie was an eccentric character. She dressed flamboyantly, with a fondness for wide-brimmed hats and buckled shoes, long after these had gone out of fashion. One woman, recalling her childhood in Kirkcudbright, remembered Jessie “riding through the streets on her bicycle … We all thought she was a witch!”. Jessie believed that she had second sight, and had been strongly influenced by Mary McNab (d. 1938), her devoted Gaelic-speaking nursemaid and later housekeeper who possessed a wealth of folk tales. Jessie was so connected with Mary that her ashes were scattered on Mary’s grave.

By the way, if you want a Greengate Close Coterie holiday, the house in which Jessie and Ernest lived in Kirkcudbright is now a B&B.

Portraits of Jessie:

Jessie M King.

Jessie M King painted by her husband E A Taylor. Undated.

Jessie M King.

Jessie M King by James Craig Annan.

Jessie M King by Ernest Archibald Taylor.

Portriat of Jessie M King by Helen Paxton Brown, undated. In the collections of the national Portrait Gallery of Scotland.

Portrait of Jessie M King by Helen Paxton Brown, undated. In the collections of the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland.

Portrait of Jessie M King by Helen Paxton Brown, undated. In the collections of the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland.

Jessie M King by Lena Alexander. (c) Dumfries and Galloway Council (Kirkcudbright); Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Jessie M King.

Sources: Jewelry and Metalwork in the Arts and Crafts Tradition by Elyse Zorn Karlin, 1993, 139-140; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for Jessie Marion King by Jan Marsh; Jessie M King entry in the ExploreArt at Gracefield Arts Centre website; Jessie Marion King entry in Artists in Britain Since 1945—Chapter K by the Goldmark Gallery; the Jessie Marion King Papers at the University of Glasgow; Jessie Marion King entry in In the Artists’ Footsteps; Jessie M King page on Wikipedia.

This great blog has lots of photographs of Jessie’s illustrations, book covers, painted pottery and other artworks.

Further reading: The Enchanted World of Jessie M King by Colin White, Canongate Publishing Limited, 1989; Jessie M. King and E. A. Taylor: Illustrator and Designer. Sotheby’s Sale of 21 June 1977 at the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society. Glasgow: Sotheby’s Begravia, 1977. No. 169; Glasgow Style by Gerald and Celia Larner, Paul Harris Publishing, Edinburgh, 1979; Glasgow Girls: Women in Art and Design 1880—1920 edited by Jude Burkhauser, Canongate, Edinburgh, 1990; Tales of the Kirkcudbright Artists by Haig Gordon, Galloway Publishing, Kirkcudbright, 2006; Glasgow Girls: Artists and Designers 1890—1930 by Liz Arthur, Kirkcudbright, 2010.

Butterfly enamel jewellery: fluttery butterfly loveliness

Oct21

I am still in my insect jewellery phase, and one of the types of which I have a few in my Etsy shop is enamel butterfly jewellery.

Art Deco enamel and silver butterfly ring. For sale in my Etsy shop (click photo for details).

Art Deco enamel and sterling silver butterfly ring. 1930s, British. For sale in my Etsy shop (click photo for details). (NOW SOLD).

Art Deco enamel and sterling silver butterfly bar brooch. 1930s, British. For sale in my Etsy shop (click photo for details).

Art Deco enamel and brass butterfly brooch. 1930s, British. For sale in my Etsy shop (click photo for details). (NOW SOLD).

Hroar Prydz enamel and sterling silver, 1950s, Norway.

Hroar Prydz enamel, sterling silver and vermeil brooch. 1950s, Norway. For sale in my Etsy shop (click photo for details). (NOW SOLD).

In addition I have had two pairs of butterfly earrings in my shop, both of which have sold:

Hroar Prydz enamel and silver with vermeil butterfly earrings. (NOW SOLD).

Hroar Prydz enamel, sterling silver with vermeil butterfly earrings. 1950s, Norway. (NOW SOLD).

Volme Bahner enamel and silver butterfly earrings, Denmark. (NOW SOLD).

Volmer Bahner enamel and sterling silver butterfly earrings. 1960s, Denmark. (NOW SOLD).

Volmer Bahner enamel clip on earrings. Click on photo for details.

Volmer Bahner enamel and sterling silver butterfly clip on earrings. 1960s, Denmark. (NOW SOLD).

I have been trying to find out more of the history of this type of jewellery. From what I can make out, the trend for enamel and silver brooches and pendants of this type started in England in the early part of the 20th century, with jewellers such as Charles Horner, John Atkins and Sons, and EAP & Co making lovely examples in silver and enamel. Charles Horner is well known for his Art Nouveau enamelled pieces, and also his thistle and ribbon silver knotted brooches and hatpins, but he also produced beautiful butterfly brooches:

Charles Horner enamel and sterling silver butterfly brooch, hallmarked Chester, 1918. For sale at Tadema Gallery.

while John Atkins and Sons is perhaps the most famous maker of butterfly jewellery from this date:

John Atkins and Sons enamel and sterling silver butterfly brooch, hallmarked Birmingham 1916. For sale at The Antiques Centre, York.

Other companies continued the trend, through the 1920s and 1930s (when some of the butterflies are placed on distinctively Art Deco three bar mounts).

Art Deco butterfly brooch. For sale on eBay.

Art Deco butterfly brooch. For sale on eBay.

In the 1950s the very talented Scandinavian enamel jewellers picked up on the trend, the Norwegians in particular, and makers such as David-Andersen, Marius Hammer, Kristian M Hestenes, O F Hjortdahl, Aksel Holmsen, Ivar T Holth, Finn Jensen, Bernard Meldahl, Einar Modahl, Hans Myrhe, Arne Nordlie, OPRO, Hroar Prydz, and J Tostrup all produced enamelled butterfly jewellery. I featured some of the David-Andersen butterfly pieces in my earlier blog post on Norwegian enamel jewellery.

These pieces are highly collectable, and understandably so—the beautiful colours and designs, and the skill of the makers make these lovely pieces to own, with their jewel-like bright colours. A sign of how collectable they are is provided by the number of digital collections on Pinterest. Search for ‘John Atkins butterfly’ on Pinterest and you get this fabulous array of jewellery: totally droolworthy and I could lose hours looking at them all.

Niels Erik From: Danish silversmith

Oct3

PLEASE NOTE: Even though this is an old post, I update it every time I get a new piece of Niels Erik From jewellery for my shop. So if you are interested in his wonderful jewellery, do bookmark this page!

I have a real soft spot for the work of Niels Erik From, the Danish jeweller (1908—1982). He is considered one of the greats of Danish silver design, and his pieces are very collectable. I am lucky to have some of his jewellery for sale in my Etsy shop at the moment. It’s always a great day when I get my hands on some of his beauties! NE From sterling silver daisy pendant and chain. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

(As this blog post was getting rather unwieldy, I have moved all the NE From items I have sold to a new blog post, which can be found here.)

NE From amethyst ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From Baltic amber and sterling silver pendant. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From sterling silver daisy pendant and chain. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details. (I have three of these in total – please contact me if you would like to buy more than one).

NE From modernist chrysoprase ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

Large and striking NE From facetted smoky quartz pendant with a hidden suspension loop. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From Baltic amber pendant with a sterling silver mount. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From rock crystal modernist ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photos for details.

NE From Baltic amber clip on earrings. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery.

NE From Baltic amber pendant and curved solid bar chain necklace. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From amethyst modernist pendant and paperclip chain. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

Sweater or collar clips by Niels Erik From: such a fantastic sculptural design. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From chrysoprase post ring, with a 1974 London import mark. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

Another view of the NE From chrysoprase post ring, showing the stem under the head. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From Baltic amber ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From sterling silver ring. This one is UK size H, US size 4 1/4, European size 46, and has an internal diameter of c. 17 mm x 15 mm (the shank is not quite a true circle), but I think it is actually a very slightly larger ring size than this. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From amethyst modernist ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From chrysoprase ring. This one is UK size M, US size 6 1/2 – 6 3/4, European size 52 1/2 and has an internal diameter of c. 17.5 mm. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From chrysoprase ring. This one is UK size N, US size 7 – 7 1/4, European size 53 1/2 – 54 and has an internal diameter of c. 18 mm. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From chrysoprase ring. This one is UK size P – P 1/2, US size 8 1/4, European size 56 1/2 and has an internal diameter of 18.5 mm. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From rose quartz ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From (Niels Erik From) plain sterling silver band. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From (Niels Erik From) rhodochrosite ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From (Niels Erik From) amethyst and sterling silver ring. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

NE From (Niels Erik From) amethyst and sterling silver modernist bar brooch. For sale in my Etsy shop, Inglenookery: click on photo for details.

Despite the high regard in which his work is held, I haven’t been able to find out too much about Mr From. He first started working as a silversmith in 1931, and he registered his silversmithy in Nakskov, in south Denmark, in 1944. His earlier pieces developed out of the organic Skønvirke style, a Scandinavian development of the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements. From designed these early pieces himself, and they are characterised by floral and foliage motifs, as well as other inspirations from nature, such as fish.design.

From the 1950s onwards most of From’s pieces were designed by other designers, and have a markedly different look—out went the detailed, romantic designs from nature, and in came modernist, clean lines with abstract and geometric shapes. Occasionally the modern designs took nature as their inspiration, with abstract leaf and blossom shapes, but generally they followed the modern trend of the 1950s for sparse, minimalist design. But ever the canny businessman, From continued manufacturing some of the popular older Skønvirke style jewellery alongside the modernist pieces.

In 1960 From’s son-in-law Hilmer Jensen joined the company, and he took over following From’s death in 1982. However, the company failed to flourish and it closed in 1990.

I used to keep the pieces of his that I have sold listed here, but the page was getting too unwieldy. I have moved all my N E From sold pieces to a new page, here.

A more detailed exploration of one of From’s designs can be found here, with more to come as I find time to write them!

The maker’s marks on From’s pieces varied over the years. On the earliest pieces in the Skønvirke style, the maker’s mark is ‘FROM 830.S’, with the 830 referring to the silver content of 830 parts per 1000.

‘FROM 830.S’ on a silver cufflink by Niels Erik From in the Skønvirke style.

An intermediate mark used in the 1940s and 1950s, on the earlier Skønvirke style jewellery, reading ‘FROM 925S’ in capitals:

‘FROM 925S’ mark on one of the earlier Skønvirke style rings. The 925 refers to the silver content of 925 parts per 1000, ie sterling silver.

An intermediate mark used in the 1950s and 1960s, reading ”N.E. From’ in flowing handwriting-like script; sometimes also with ‘925S STERLING DANMARK’ in capitals used on a modernist ring from the 60s:

Modernist N E From amber ring I sold in my shop, with the same style of mark: Danmark spelling again. (NOW SOLD).

A different mark used from the 1950s onwards was ‘STERLING DENMARK N.E. FROM 925 S’. This mark occurs on both the modernist pieces and on the pieces in the earlier Skønvirke style that From continued to produce as they were so popular:

The maker's mark on the back of the clip on earrings in my Etsy shop, reading 'STERLING DENMARK N.E. FROM 925 S'. The 925 refers to the silver content of 925 parts per 1000, ie sterling silver.

The maker’s mark on the back of the modernist clip on earrings in my Etsy shop, reading ‘STERLING DENMARK N.E. FROM 925 S’. (NOW SOLD).

Mark ‘FROM 925 S.’ used in the 1960s and 1970s: Mark used in the 1970s: ‘N.E. FROM STERLING 925S. DANMARK’:

Mark on a brooch dating from the 1970s: ‘N.E. FROM STERLING 925S. DANMARK’

Norwegian enamel jewellery

Sep16

I have favourite types of jewellery in my Etsy shop, and they come and go in phases. At the moment, I’m in a Norwegian enamel phase. There’s something about the crispness and craftsmanship in these pretty enamelled brooches. Plus, an extra bonus for me is that they are often based on designs from nature. They all date from the 1950s:

Aksel Holmsen enamel and silver with vermeil brooch, often called the 'lily of the valley' design. For sale at my Etsy shop.

Aksel Holmsen enamel and silver with vermeil brooch, often called the ‘lily of the valley’ design. For sale in my Etsy shop. (NOW SOLD).

Hroar Prydz enamel and silver with vermeil butterfly brooch. For sale in my Esty shop.

Hroar Prydz enamel and silver with vermeil butterfly brooch. For sale in my Etsy shop. (NOW SOLD).

David-Andersen enamel and silver with vermeil leaf brooch. For sale in my Etsy shop. (NOW SOLD).

David Andersen teal enamel and sterling silver ring, for sale in my Etsy shop. Click on photo for details. (NOW SOLD).

Hroar Prydz enamel and silver with vermeil butterfly earrings. (NOW SOLD).

UPDATE: For an up-to-date list of the Norwegian enamel for sale in my Etsy shop, including an enamelled sølje brooch, see here.

Norwegian jewellers have been producing enamelled pieces since the early 20th century. Probably the most famous jeweller is the firm of David-Andersen, with other notable jewellers who worked with enamel including (in alphabetical order) Marius Hammer, Kristian M Hestenes, O F Hjortdahl, Aksel Holmsen, Ivar T Holth, Finn Jensen, Bernard Meldahl, Einar Modahl, Hans Myrhe, Arne Nordlie, OPRO, Hroar Prydz, and J Tostrup.

Of all the designs, I like the butterfly brooches the most, and of those, the David-Andersen ones are stunning. I hope one day to catch one of those little beauties for my shop: until then I will have to suffice with drooling over those belonging to others:

David-Andersen neamel and silver with vermeil butterfly brooch, c. 1950. Sold at Tadema Gallery.

David-Andersen enamel and silver with vermeil butterfly brooch, c. 1950. Sold at Tadema Gallery. I WANT THIS!

David-Andersen enamel and silver with vermeil butterfly brooch, c. 1950. For sale at Ruby Lane.

Yet more David-Andersen loveliness.

And yet more …

A William Morris alphabet

Aug27

I have a tiny brooch for sale in my Etsy shop—it’s a sterling silver letter ‘C’ in a lovely ornate script, decorated with foliage and flowers. It is unmarked and I didn’t know much about it. I described it as best I could and listed it. I didn’t know who the designer or the maker was, and I hadn’t seen anything like it before.

Vintage tiny William Morris design sterling silver brooch forming a letter ‘C’, and made by Ortak in the 1970s. For sale in my Etsy shop. Click for details. (NOW SOLD).

A few weeks later I heard from Rowena, a lovely lady on Etsy, pointing out it was a letter ‘C’ (I had photographed it on its side and not realised it was a letter!), and that she thought it might be by Ortak, the jewellery firm based on the Orkney Isles off the northern tip of mainland Scotland. I have two other pieces by Ortak, so was familiar with the company’s story.

Just today I have heard from another seller on Etsy, a lovely lady called Suzanne, who tells me it is definitely by Ortak. She has a sister brooch, a ‘B’ to my ‘C’.

Suzanne’s Ortak silver ‘B’, for sale in her Etsy shop. Click for details. (NOW SOLD).

Suzanne knew who had made it, because it came in its box, marked ‘Ortak, Scotland’. A spot of google-fu was in order, now that I knew it was by Ortak for sure.

Up popped an old eBay listing for a letter ‘P’, with its Ortak box—and the information that the design is based on one by William Morris.

Ortak sterling silver brooch, letter ‘P’, sold on eBay.

I was a very happy bunny at this news. William Morris is one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement, and a designer of beautiful textiles, tiles, stained glass, furniture, book design and calligraphy—you name it, he probably designed it.

A bit more truffling produced a letter ‘A’:

Ortak silver letter ‘A’. Photo by CAtaway on flickr.

and I’m sure if I carried on I would have found still more. Morris’s skill at calligraphy is well known, and his illuminated manuscripts and book illustrations are gorgeous and wonderful. And here are some letters designed by Morris that might have been part of the inspiration for the brooch series above:

Letters designed by William Morris.

So a wonderful learning lesson has been had by me today. I love it! Thanks Rowena, and thanks Suzanne!

2018 UPDATE: a few more of these brooches have come out of the woodwork and I wrote a blog post illustrating them all.

Mystery tile revisited: Iznik?

Aug11

I’ve done some poking about since I last wrote about my mystery tile. (Click on all photos to enlarge).

The mystery tile.

I had discounted it being Iznik as most Iznik decorative floral motifs I had seen were flowing and sinuous, rather than angular and geometric, as in my tile.

However, a late-night spot of google-fu brought me to the official blog of the Glessner House Museum in Chicago. In the mid 1880s Iznik tiles which date from the mid-16th century were used to decorate the fireplace of the newly built Glessner House. The photos on the Glessner House website are very similar to my tile:

Iznik tile illustrated on the Glessner House blog. Pretty good match, no?

However, it is not clear from the blog whether this is one of the 1970s reproductions that is mentioned, or one of the three original tiles that survive from the Glessner House collection. (Update: this very tile is for sale at Anthony Slayter-Ralph Fine Art, Tile 70 of the Lockwood de Forest II collection, 21.6 x 19 cm (8.5 x 7.5 in.), so I am not sure how accurate the Glessner House information is. The sale description says it can be compared to two tiles in the V&A, accession no. 1227-1883, but sadly there are no photos with the V&A’s collections database entry for these tiles).

This tile differs from my tile in that the interior of the flower spike is painted to delineate the fish scale-like sections, whereas mine has a bumpy, textured interior and the sections are more circular. The Glessner ones are said to be some 6 inches square (although the one above is 8.5 x 7.5 inches), whereas mine is a tad over 8 inches square. Plus my underglaze background colour is a blueish white, whereas the Glessner House ones are a cleaner, crisper white.

Iznik tiles in the dining room fireplace in the Glessner House, before their removal in the 1930s.

The Glessner House blog provided a photo of similar tiles in the tomb of Muhi al-Din Ibn ‘Arabi in the Sheikh Muhiddin Mosque in Damascus. Another quick google told me that he was properly known as (deep breath) ‘Abū ‘Abdillāh Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Arabī (also as Muhiddin(e) ibn Arabi), an Arab-Andalusian Sufi mystic, poet and philosopher who died in 1240 AD, and was buried in Damascus. Centuries later his tomb was decorated with these vivid Iznik tiles. They too have the painted fish scale-like interior divisions of the flower spikes.

Iznik tiles in the tomb of ‘Abū ‘Abdillāh Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Arabī in Damascus. These have the painted fish scale divisions within the flower spikes.

Ibn Arabi’s tomb, Damascus, Syria. Photo from http://hakkani.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/sheikh-ibn-arabis-tomb-jabal-qasyoon-syria/

So the question is, is mine Iznik too? Is it genuine Iznik, older than the ones at Damascus? Is it genuine Iznik, younger than the ones at Damascus? Was it made by another pottery centre, apeing the Iznik style? Is it a modern reproduction? I don’t think it is the latter as it simply looks and feels too old: it was made in a fairly crude way, the glaze is very crackled and crazed with age, and it has had a life with all its breaks and stains. But I could very easily be wrong.

Time for some more research ….

UDATE: More developments here.

Inglenookery

West Country witterings

Archives

Eric Gill, The Song of Songs

Pretty in pink

Filming locations: Wilton House

Vikings ahoy!

Jessie M King, Arts and Crafts jewellery designer

Butterfly enamel jewellery: fluttery butterfly loveliness

Niels Erik From: Danish silversmith

Norwegian enamel jewellery

A William Morris alphabet

Mystery tile revisited: Iznik?