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| Arts & Crafts jewellery |
Many ideals of the Art Nouveau movement were also shared by Arts and Crafts jewelers
in
Britain, Northern Europe, and the I nited States. Both artistic
movements had strong roots in mid-19th century Britain, and two
leading British cultural figures of the day—the art critic John
Ruskin and the designer and philosopher William Morris—articulated
in print the dissatisfaction of many artists and craftsmen with
industrialization and the shoddy goods it produced.
Ruskin and Morris romanticized the medieval handicraft guilds, believing that these collectives maintained standards of workmanship and encouraged creativity among their members. They urged artists and designers to embrace their idealized pre-industrial vision and many took up the cause.
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| Arts & Crafts jewellery |
Ruskin and Morris romanticized the medieval handicraft guilds, believing that these collectives maintained standards of workmanship and encouraged creativity among their members. They urged artists and designers to embrace their idealized pre-industrial vision and many took up the cause.
Just
like Art Nouveau jewelers, Arts and Crafts jewelers produced finely
wrought pieces, and their work featured similar undulating and
entwined lines. Humbler materials like silver and enamel appealed to
them more than costly rarities such as gold and emeralds. They were
also drawn to the same enigmatic imagery as Art Nouveau
jewelers—wistful maidens, Viking sailing ships, peacocks and their
feathers.
Arts
and Crafts jewelers such as C. R. Ashbee, Frank Gardner Hale, and
Edward Everett Oakes differed from their Art Nouveau counterparts in
that they emphatically stressed the fact that their pieces were
entirely crafted by hand. For example, they deliberately left hammer
marks on silver surfaces and produced grainy images in matt enamel in
order to display the honesty and integrity of their work in these
materials.
Silver was the Arts and Crafts jewelers' metal of choice. They also liked using irregularly shaped pearls as well as simple cabochon-cut stones such as amethysts, moonstones, and opals which were placed in plain settings.
Silver was the Arts and Crafts jewelers' metal of choice. They also liked using irregularly shaped pearls as well as simple cabochon-cut stones such as amethysts, moonstones, and opals which were placed in plain settings.
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| Arts & Crafts jewellery |
Arts
and Crafts jewelers looked to Northern Europe's distant heritage for
inspiration: the knotted patterns of Celtic goldsmiths and
silversmiths in particular had a huge impact on their designs.
Another major source of inspiration was jewelry from the Middle Ages, such as enamel figurative pendants. In contrast to the extreme sophistication of Art Nouvcau jewelry designs, Arts and Crafts pieces tend to be simpler, lighter, and more naive. On the whole, they lack Art Nouveau jewelry's darkly sensuous qualities.
Another major source of inspiration was jewelry from the Middle Ages, such as enamel figurative pendants. In contrast to the extreme sophistication of Art Nouvcau jewelry designs, Arts and Crafts pieces tend to be simpler, lighter, and more naive. On the whole, they lack Art Nouveau jewelry's darkly sensuous qualities.
Although
Arts and Crafts jewelry was made from inexpensive materials, the
skill and artistry that went into these handcrafted pieces still put
them out of many people's reach. However, several leading retailers
and silver manufacturers of the day quickly recognized that the fresh
simplicity of Arts and Crafts designs had wider appeal..
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| Arts & Crafts jewellery |
Liberty's
department store in London had been famous for importing exotic
Oriental goods since the 1870s. By the end of the 19th century, the
store was also commissioning stylish products with artistic merit
from British dcsigncis and manufacturers.
A
number of leading Arts and Crafts jewelers, including Jessie M. King
and Arthur
and Cieorgina Gaskin, created
designs for Liberty. Although these pieces were produced using
industrial technology by companies such as W. H. Haseler & Co. in
Birmingham, they offered desirable Art and Crafts quality and looks
without the expensive price.
Archibald Knox was probably the best known of all the jewelers and silversmiths designing for Liberty. Drawing on his roots in the Isle of Man, he produced pins, buckles, and pendants with a strong Celtic flavor. His designs often feature a distinct whiplash motif and muted-colored enamels. Liberty's jewelry in the Arts and Crafts style proved such a success that the pieces were cheaply imitated for the mass market.
Archibald Knox was probably the best known of all the jewelers and silversmiths designing for Liberty. Drawing on his roots in the Isle of Man, he produced pins, buckles, and pendants with a strong Celtic flavor. His designs often feature a distinct whiplash motif and muted-colored enamels. Liberty's jewelry in the Arts and Crafts style proved such a success that the pieces were cheaply imitated for the mass market.
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| Arts & Crafts jewellery |
Another
London-based business to take note of the Arts and Crafts look was
Murrle Bennett & Co., owned by German jeweler Ernst Murrle. The
company's jewelry was similar to Liberty's and was also available in
the upmarket department store.
Typical Murrle necklaces, pins, and pendants had gold or silver mounts and were set with blister pearls or turquoises. Like Liberty and Co., Ernst Miirrlc had designs made to his specifications by industrial manufacturers who could be relied upon for quality, such as Theodor Fahrner in Pforzheim, Germany.
Typical Murrle necklaces, pins, and pendants had gold or silver mounts and were set with blister pearls or turquoises. Like Liberty and Co., Ernst Miirrlc had designs made to his specifications by industrial manufacturers who could be relied upon for quality, such as Theodor Fahrner in Pforzheim, Germany.
The
Arts and Crafts design aesthetic was also successfully combined w ith
industrial manufacturing techniques by the Kalo Shop in the I'nitcd
States. Clara Barack (later Barack Welles) founded the Chicago-based
firm in 1900 and named it after the Greek word for beauty.
She and her all-female design team (known as "Kalo girls") initially offered a variety of decorative items, but switched exclusiv ely to copper and silver goods after Clara married amateur silversmith George Welles in 1905.
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| Arts & Crafts jewellery |
She and her all-female design team (known as "Kalo girls") initially offered a variety of decorative items, but switched exclusiv ely to copper and silver goods after Clara married amateur silversmith George Welles in 1905.
Barack
hired Scandinavian metalworkers, under whose influence the jewelry
soon developed an Arts and Crafts flavor. Stylized, geometric shapes
and naturalistic forms, such as blossoms, oak and vine leaves, and
acorns, were common. Many were embellished with semi-precious stones,
and share a hammered surface with the work of C. R. Ashbee.
A
number of notable Chicago jewelers and silversmiths such as Julius
Randhal, Grant Wood, Matthias Hanack, and Emery Todd are associated
with the Kalo Shop, which closed in 1970.
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