Antique Arts & Crafts Silver & Ruskin Brooch - Liberty & Co Style - C. 1905
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:19374403 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom |
| Sub-Type: Ruskin | Type: Brooch/ Pin |
| Metal: Silver |
Antique Arts & Crafts Silver & Ruskin Brooch - Liberty & Co Style - c.1905
~Welcome to my auction for this nice early 20th century ceramic & silver brooch~
This is a lovely brooch from the arts & crafts era that would make a nice addition to a collection or to wear as originally intended.
The construction of the brooch is absolutely typical of its time - it has a silver open backed frame into which is set a ceramic plaque or 'enamel' as they were so cal...led - to the reverse is a simple tube hinge and C clasp to hold the pin in place.
Early in the 1900's Ruskin pottery introduced small cabochons which were known as plaques or enamels with the idea that these would resemble gems and set into metalwork (like mirror frames) or wooden item and even jewellery.
The enamels came in all manner of colours ranging from vibrant yellows and oranges to more muted blues and greens and all are now highly collected - even those not actually manufactured by the Ruskin pottery have come to be known generically as 'Ruskins'.
The example on offer here is is nice deep turquoise blue colour with some lighter blue speckles here and there and some lighter yellow green mottling - due to the lighting when the picture was taken the brooch it actually appears more blue than it actually is - the cermaic is much lighter in colour when you have the brooch in your hand, please bear this in mind if you are considering a purchase - the frame is simply marked 'sterling silver' on the reverse - I've seen this exactly type of mark before and they have been fitted with Ruskin marked plaques which probably means the frames could be bought separately for use with different plaques.The ceramic on this piece is unmarked making it impossible to say if it was made by Ruskin but the quality is excellent.
Some of the major players in the arts & crafts movement like Liberty of London and Charles Horner used Ruskin enamels in their jewellery but there was also a thriving cottage industry in making this kind item as the plaques could be purchased separately for using in pewter or silver mounts.
The brooch measures 3.8cm x 2.9cm and is around 0.4cm thick - the total unpacked weight is 7.4g.
The condition of the brooch is excellent - the ceramic plaque is free from chips or cracks but has the perfectly normal light crazing to the glaze which you see more often than not on these pieces - the silver frame has acquired a nice patina in the last 100 or so years or shows only the lightest contact marks and signs of wear - the hinge and clasp work exactly as they should which means the brooch is perfectly wearable.
Please study the images provided to satisfy yourself as to the condition of the item - if you have any further questions please ask and I'll be happy to oblige.
Postage to U.K addresses is £2.45 (signed for) - postage to international addresses is £9.95 (tracked / signed).
Thanks for looking.
