The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, London EC2V 6BN
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prime Warden
by David Beasley
Richard Agutter, the new Prime Warden, is a man of sense and practicality and has a lifelong fascination with the City of London.
He was not born in the City – in fact he hails from the Forest of Dean – and lived a large part of his early life in Gloucestershire. De-mobbed from the Royal Naval Reserve in 1946, his father was persuaded to move to Ifield, West Sussex, where his additional presence, as a season ticket holder, forced the London train to stop at Ifield Halt. His father was an oil broker in the City until his death in 1960. They subsequently moved to ‘Saykers’ in Rusper which, when they left Sussex, they sold to Walter Prideaux, the former Clerk of the Goldsmiths’ Company.
His schooldays at Marlborough College were happy and constructive in mapping his future and his interest in the particular came to the fore. He was seduced by the beauty of the graining in wood – to such an extent that he spent his final year of A-levels building a boat, a 14 foot Enterprise, entirely by hand. He was convinced that the stress-relieving effect of this project helped him to pass his exams.
He was not too interested in university. He wanted rather to get out into the world and do things – perhaps the enthusiastic sailor in him, which remains to this day. Through an acquaintance of his father, he was put in touch with W.T. Walton and began, in 1960, his articles as an accountant, the five-year term reduced to four because of his exam results.
Once qualified, he joined Peat Marwick Mitchell in Ironmonger Lane in 1964, which, Richard recalled, had Roman remains in its basement. His first major coup was to structure the amalgamation of two rival fishing fleets in Hull – Associated Fisheries and Ross Fisheries became British United Trawlers. He had got the job because his manager had left the firm and Richard took over his responsibilities. For him it was an exciting experience to be able to find a practical solution for two competing businesses in a declining market.
Larger profile businesses came under his umbrella including Ferranti on which he was working with Rupert Nicholson. At the time, Rupert was working closely with Lord Tombs of Brailes (Sir Francis Tombs as he was at that time) on the receivership of Rolls Royce so Richard was left to handle the day-to-day involvement with Ferrranti. The Ferranti negotiations were at Cabinet level and he witnessed the formidable skills of people such as Rupert Nicholson, Lord Goodman and Lord Ryder (Chairman of the National Enterprise Board).
A strong believer in the livery company movement and very keen to promote the positives of membership
By 1978 he was made a partner of the firm and adopted something of a trouble-shooting role. He recalled on one occasion being sent to Perth in Australia where three large trawlers were assets of a business in an area where there were no fish to be found! He had been allocated the job because he, as the audit partner, had refused to sign off the accounts of the business as a going concern. He found, increasingly, that he was moving away from the auditing side of the firm towards Corporate Finance. He had a great success with Alfred Herbert, one of the biggest toolmakers in the UK, whose assets were sold within the 90 days’ notice served by the Government
of the day on the business. The toy industry was also suffering in the early 1970s and again in the early 1980s as was the furniture business. Solutions were required and, in the latter case, he was put in by Barclays Bank and, to his credit, was successful in saving five of the six firms in trouble.
By the mid-80s he had been a partner in the Insolvency Division for a decade or so when one of his greatest friends was given the top job. Richard’s answer to his Senior Partner as to what he should do next was “buy and sell businesses”. He started this activity in 1986 in the UK and took it to an international level in 1991 as head of KPMG Corporate Finance. By 1999 the division had outgrown the insolvency practice.
Having worked for most of his adulthood in the City he became involved in its political and social life at an early stage (his father-in-law was a Common Councilman of Castle Baynard Ward). His stepfather introduced Richard to Sir Owen Wansbrough-Jones (a Goldsmiths’ Company Assistant) who proposed him for the freedom of the Company in 1973. He was elected to the Livery in 1980 and the Court of Assistants in 2001. At a more local level he was heavily involved in the Castle Baynard Ward, eventually becoming Alderman in 1995. He was elected one of the two Sheriffs in 2000 and was intent on becoming Lord Mayor. However it was not to happen, and, in 2005, he resigned from the Aldermanic bench. He has been very active in other guilds – as Master of the Guild of Freemen (2004); of the Royal Society of St George (2002); and of the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisors (2008–9).
He is a strong believer in the livery company movement and is very keen to promote the positives of membership. This runs in the family. His wife, Lesley, whom he met in his early years auditing in Wimbledon, is currently Master of the Fletchers’ Company. The Company will also no doubt see more of their three sons, Rupert, Tom and Giles, during his year of office.
Although officially retired, he continues to play an active role in advising companies on mergers and acquisitions, and he is well placed to oversee and advise the Company on its activities in relation to the London Assay Office and the Goldsmiths’ Centre. This Prime Warden, with his City and business experience, will be very much involved and is very enthusiastic about his coming year.
Julia Skupny
A year
in harness
by Lord Sutherland
goldsmiths and silversmiths, hundreds of years ago, to ensure the quality and professionalism of the trade. It has persisted because it works, and at last voices elsewhere, in Government, Education and Industry, have learned once again to see the value of this.
It is a moving, albeit short ceremony, in which Wardens have the privilege to take part along with apprentices, masters and proud parents. A few years later the apprentice will return with a demonstration piece of silver or jewellery which encapsulates the enduring value of this quite unique relationship.
I have to confess that between these banners of Company activity and responsibility, there is also a fair bit of mouth – a mouth to eat and sip, and a mouth to speak.
Prime Wardens have various techniques with which to cope with these enhanced digestive and verbal activities. I know of one Great Twelve Master who boasts a home exercise regime and a personal trainer – never even contemplated by your Prime Warden – and others for whom the internet is increasingly anxiously trawled for suitable jokes. (I tend to rely on a reasonable memory of what has amused me! They usually work for at least some of those present.)
These activities are simply, mostly, delightful, but also much more. They involve hosting Company events –livery dinners, exhibition previews, presentations of awards and so on. They are also part of the representative role of the Prime Warden.
– were thrilled to sit down in the marvellous historical setting of Westminster Hall. The Queen passed closely by our table, and the Prince of Wales squeezed through to reach his own: not quite ‘rubbing shoulders’ but as near as it gets, and certainly one for recounting to mum and dad.
Towards the end of my year in March, the Great Twelve Livery Prime Wardens and Masters led the procession into Canterbury Cathedral, to mark the enthronement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury. All such occasions, along with the installation dinner of the new Lord Mayor, preceded three days earlier by the very distinctive Silent Ceremony, are elements of the history of national and City institutions, which are constantly redefining their respective roles and responsibilities. The Goldsmiths’ Company is a central player in these representative and real-time activities.
As part of this the Company has, over the centuries, shown itself able to reposition itself firmly and securely according to the circumstances in which it and the City find themselves. This is true whether the drama of the change is a consequence of the Fire of London, of the Blitz, or of the financial crash of 2008.
Binding apprentices was to ensure the quality and professionalism of the trade
The Trial of the Pyx, and the Binding of Apprentices: these two define the spectrum of this Prime Warden’s year.
Each is at the heart of this Company and has been for several hundred years, and together they give the Company its distinctive role in the City of London. The Trial is in two parts: in February to receive the representative selection of gold and silver coins from the Mint; and in May to declare judgement on whether they have met the rigorous standards of the Assay Office of the Goldsmiths’ Company. This is a responsibility given to the Company by Queen Elizabeth I which still lies on our shoulders in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It is a measure (symbolic as well as real) of the trust to be placed in the City of London, and it is, in contemporary parlance, a responsibility of Regulation and Quality Assurance which falls to the Goldsmiths’ Company to exercise.
I am sometimes surprised to discover how much it means to some organisations to have a senior member of the Goldsmiths’ Company as a guest – whether it is Stockport Grammar School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, one of the several primary schools whom we support, the National Trust property Erddig, the National Museum of Scotland, or those responsible for the Binney Awards for bravery, and so on I could go listing many of those whom we support through our charities.
Our current responsibilities are, clearly, partly defined by the last of these. I have no doubt that our role is to help demonstrate that the current caricature of the City, as simply the arm of Mammon, does not represent the whole truth.
Binding apprentices was not something imposed or willed from outside; it was rather the system evolved by
This year there were two or three unique events where our presence was of huge significance. The beginning of the Prime Warden’s year coincided with the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen’s reign. The Company hosted a table at the great lunch given by the City of London to celebrate that, where nine representatives of those we support –schools cadet groups, young silversmiths, universities
As our predecessors defined themselves by their charitable activities as well as by their trade, so it falls to us to continue on that path, and modestly but clearly to ensure that we are seen to do this, as well as to do it. This was the reason for the bold decision, admired but not emulated by some others, to admit a journalist from the FinancialTimes to the Company and its activities in the month of December. We have a good story to tell, and I am pleased to say that he told it.
Image: Julia Skupny
new Designers 2012
Looking back at the year
Goldsmiths’ c ompany pavilion
In June 2012 this five-day selling event moved to a new venue. Over 1,500 visitors came to view and buy the work of contemporary jewellers on display at Somerset House, which played host to other key London Jewellery Week events and exhibitions.
A street of London was ‘paved’ with gold to celebrate the opening of the summer exhibition. The Lord Mayor of London, David Wootton, pictured here with the Prime Warden Lord Sutherland, opened Gold: Power and Allure by cutting a golden ribbon.
The Goldsmiths’ Company’s silversmithing and jewellery prizes were presented at the New Designers private view to Noeleen Logue (left) and Mairi Johnstone (right). According to Noeleen: “Winning the silversmithing award has been a fantastic achievement. It has enabled me to set up a studio and has helped fund tools and materials. As part of the award, I was invited to attend the GettingStarted course at the Goldsmiths’ Centre which was brilliant for helping me plan and launch my business, as well as having the chance to meet many people in the industry.”
Goldsmiths’ Fair
Goldsmiths’ Fair celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012. Visitor numbers and turnover were both higher than in the previous year, and the Fair’s events, such as the Assay Office demonstrations and prize draw, proved very popular. The Best New Design award was won by Max Warren in Week One and by Adi Toch in Week Two.
young Designer silversmith Award 2012
Kate Earlam was with the Prime Warden when he presented her Leafdish to Mr Bruce Minto, Chairman of National Museums Scotland on 1 November 2012. Kate is now based in the Goldsmiths’ Centre and also works for Clive Burr, in whose workshop the dish was made.
Delegates enjoyed spectacular views from the top floor Agas Harding Suite as the Company’s introduction to business course was hosted, in January, by the Goldsmiths’ Centre for the first time. Thirty recent graduates spent a week receiving advice from industry experts on topics including online marketing, creating portfolios and selling to galleries.
Goldsmiths’ craft & Design c ouncil Awards
HRH Princess Michael of Kent, in her role as patron of the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards, attended the private view of the annual competition on 4 March where she met, amongst others, members of the Council – Brett Payne and Brian Hill, Leo de Vroomen, ‘master of ceremonies’, and silversmith Christopher Lawrence, the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
trial of the p yx
Deputy Warden Robert Organ is seen here examining a silver £500 pound coin in his role as Juror at the Trial of the Pyx in February. The coins, which weighed one kilogram each, were minted to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Jurors also had the chance to count six £1,000 pound commemorative gold coins.
young Designer silversmith Award 2013
Judging took place for this competition on 12 February. Kyosun Jung, a second year student from the University for the Creative Arts at Rochester won the brief to design a cocktail set, and will make up her piece in the workshop of Clive Burr. The completed work will be presented to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
studio silver today at erddig
Silversmith Rauni Higson showed off her skills to 125 guests including the Prime Warden, the Clerk and the Curator at the private view of her residency at the National Trust property, held on 7 March. During the year she will make a beaker inspired by sweet peas in the garden of the historic Welsh country house.
Growing talent
Makers Katey Felton, Shona Marsh, Rachel Galley and Tomasz Donocik show off examples of their work exhibited at GrowingTalent. The spring exhibition showcased the work of 80 jewellers and silversmiths who received the Company’s Graduate Bursary to exhibit at Goldsmiths’ Fair.
Image: Lee Robinson Photography
Image: Jan Davies
Image: Imagewise
Image: Eryk Stadelmeier
Pageantmaster Dom I n Ic Re ID
by David Beasley
The Lord Mayor’s Show which takes place every year in the City of London on the second Saturday in November is a celebration to mark the year of the new Lord Mayor.
Few people are aware of the very considerable time, energy and money which are invested in this event. One person who does know is the Pageantmaster, Dominic Reid OBE, who last year celebrated his 21st year in that post. It was also the first year that the Lord Mayor’s Coach suffered a mechanical failure. Such is life!
Although there is a significant ceremonial role for the Pageantmaster – he is responsible for delivering the Lord Mayor to the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand to swear allegiance to the Sovereign – Dominic Reid is a most likeable and very unstuffy character. With some military training and a background in architecture, he succeeded his father in the role when he died unexpectedly at the age of 66 in 1992. It was a daunting prospect but he rose to the occasion and, over the years, the Show has increased in size, participation and presentation. The procession is now over three miles in length, has up to 7,000 participants, is shown on prime time television (BBC) and now has its own app. The spectacular results seen on the streets and on television owe much to the organisational ability of the Pageantmaster and his Executive Assistant, Helen Field who are dedicated to the Show.
Nowadays, the Show is a limited company with the City Remembrancer and incoming Aldermen on the board. Preparatory meetings begin 14–15 months in advance and a budget of c. £350,000 is achieved by working hard to encourage organisations to pay for the privilege of taking part. The floats are sponsored by the organisations which they feature. Although the overall design of the Show is carefully considered – in the spacing of the floats and the accompanying pedestrian supporters – Dominic believes that spontaneity and self-expression provide the most successful elements to the Show. In terms of size he feels that it has reached its limit – it now takes one hour and ten minutes to pass a spectator.
Work begins early on the day – driving over the route and then briefing the 150 strong marshalling team at breakfast at 6.45 am. Many people are unaware that the procession is run by marshals who are all members of the Reserve Forces. Parts of the City are designated assembly areas where the floats can gather in a prescribed manner so that when they receive the order to move they can ‘infiltrate’ the procession.
The centrepiece is undoubtedly the magnificent 18th century Lord Mayor’s State Coach, housed in the Museum of London during the year. Accompanied by the Pikemen & Musketeers of the Honourable Artillery Company, the successor to London’s trained bands who parade under Royal Warrant, the coach bears the Lord Mayor from Guildhall in the City to the Royal Courts of Justice where he/she is sworn in. This year the coach broke down at Blackfriars Bridge and the Pageantmaster rode to the rescue in his Land Rover. He cuts a sombre figure in his black uniform and feathered hat but this underlines the seriousness of his role. Today, health and safety issues and security play an increasing role in England’s ceremonial traditions. It is important that they are acknowledged but a tremendous amount of hard work is applied to ensure that the spectacle and enjoyment of the Show is maintained.
He is responsible for delivering the Lord Mayor to the Royal Courts of Justice to swear allegiance to the Sovereign
Dominic has other strings to his bow although this event has the largest profile. He was the first Executive Director of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, was Director of the 2010 Anniversary Programme of the Royal Society and organises the annual country fairs at Chatsworth in Derbyshire and Holkham in Norfolk. A new incumbent keeps the Show fresh each year and Dominic is looking forward to his next 20 years. As to his successor, his young daughter of 11 is training to be a ballerina and has a strong interest in choreography – so who knows? □
All images: Charlie Wallis
Ambition, Honour and Piety:
portraits of 16th century London goldsmiths
by Dr Tarnya Cooper
Some of the earliest painted portraits depicting 16th century London citizens that survive to the present day represent important members of the Goldsmiths’ Company.
In the Tudor period, goldsmiths were some of the wealthiest men in the City, running extremely prosperous businesses with a clientele among the courtiers of Elizabeth I, the nobility and gentry across the realm. By the 1550s and 1560s portraits were slowly becoming a fashionable addition to the parlours and halls of the houses of important London citizens. Numerous merchants, retailers and elite artisans, such as goldsmiths, owned portraits of the reigning monarch, and sometimes previous monarchs thereby creating a visual history of the Tudor dynasty. Commissioning a portrait of oneself, and perhaps one’s wife, was one way to create a lasting memorial of one’s status and importance among one’s peers and associates. It also allowed sitters to reinforce certain messages about their personal virtues, in particular their piety and charity, alongside their material wealth.
The earliest of the 16th century portraits owned by the Goldsmiths’ Company is that of the goldsmith and Alderman Robert Trappes (1497/8–1560), dated 1554, showing him at the great age of 75 in a moment of religious contemplation, holding a prayer book with his fingers between the pages. His portrait shows him as both a successful man (wearing gold chains, rings and a fur-lined gown) and as a man of dutiful
Christian purpose. His own coat of arms and that of the Goldsmiths are shown on either side of his head.
The portrait survives in two versions and another near identical example is in the collection of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. The two portraits appear to be by different artists and, despite the inscribed dates, it is not clear if both date from the same time.
Further research, using the science of dendrochronology (or tree ring dating), could help to answer this question.
Portraits of his wife Joanna Trappes and another of his daughter Joan also survive at Cambridge.
Commissioning a portrait of oneself was one way to create a lasting memorial of one’s status and importance
Into the 1560s two other prominent London goldsmiths both commissioned their own likenesses: Martin Bowes (1496/7–1566) in 1562; and John Lonyson (1525–1582) in 1565. Martin Bowes was apprenticed to the goldsmith Robert Amadas (d.1533) who served as Court supplier and master of jewels, and, whose surviving inventory indicates, owned a considerable number of paintings including portraits. Therefore, Martin Bowes’ early life may have given him a taste for commissioning or purchasing his own works of art. Bowes’ own probate inventory taken in 1566 includes ‘a map of the world’ in
the Hall, ‘iiii tables of pictures’ in ‘The Great Chamber’ valued at just two shillings (and which may have included his 1562 portrait), and ‘a picture of a Venetian gentlewoman’. He became Mayor of London in 1545 and Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company 13 times between 1537 to 1562 and was notable in giving significant sums to the poor. Several surviving versions of his portrait were painted by a native painter and derive from an original painted in 1562. His portrait was painted in his final year of service to the Company and it may have been commissioned as a memorial to his exceptionally long career.
John Lonyson was from a Flemish family of émigré goldsmiths. He completed his London apprenticeship by 1552, and was elected to the Livery of the Goldsmiths’ Company in May 1564. A year later he commissioned his portrait, which must have been partly a demonstration of his successful entry into the London elite. This remarkable portrait by an as yet unidentified talented Anglo-Netherlandish artist, was previously attributed to Steven van der Meulen (d.1563/4), an artist that we now know as dead by the time this portrait was painted. The portrait includes an inscription which reads in a rather awkwardly placed way ‘WITHOWT. THE. BLESINGE. OF. GOD. LABOVR IS NOTHYNG’. Intriguingly, technical evidence suggests that the inscription has been altered from an original shorter version ‘WITHOWT. LABOVR. NOTHYNG’. It seems this might have happened shortly after the picture was finished, perhaps
when Lonyson recognised the sentiment might be considered irreverent. Lonyson appears to have been a rather colourful character as he was investigated for fraudulently mismanaging the weight of coins in 1575 as part of his role as a master worker of the mint. It is tempting to think he may have had the inscription changed when his reputation was under scrutiny.
Many other portraits of London citizens were also painted at this date including members of the Mercers, Drapers, Merchant Taylors and even Butchers, many of which are documented in my recent book Citizen Portrait:portraitpaintingandtheurbanelite1540–1620
A few of these citizens were knighted or held coats of arms, but often these were acquired after the date of the portrait, and it seems that the receipt of such honours was rarely the reason for the creation of a portrait. Instead, it is likely that the decision to commission a painted portrait for display in the sitter’s home may have been part of a wider strategy of self-promotion, thereby creating the right impression for future, eagerly looked for, advancement. Whatever the reason, the Goldsmiths’ Company is fortunate now to have these impressive reminders of its forebears on the walls of its Hall. □
From left to right: Robert Trappes, 1554, english school; Sir Martin Bowes 1562, english school; John Lonyson 1565, unidentified Anglo-netherlandish artist, all oil on panel
Three generations of jewellers
from apprentice to master by Eleni
Bide
Working with precious metals requires logic, precision and a tacit understanding of materials and processes which can only be learned through experience.
Traditionally this experience was won through serving an apprenticeship, and the skills passed down from master to apprentice still have a vital role to play in training new craftsmen. The previous century has seen many alternative modes of teaching develop, from evening classes to degree courses. However, an apprenticeship is still regarded as one of the best ways to achieve excellence.
The Goldsmiths’ Company’s own apprenticeship scheme has its roots in the medieval period, with the earliest Books of Ordinances laying down rules for masters and their charges. Six hundred years later, a Company apprentice no longer has to contend with sleeping under his master’s bench at night, but the 25 young men and women, who might be part of the scheme at any one time, must still learn the fundamentals at the bench and submit a masterpiece to be inspected by the Wardens in order to qualify and to be made ‘free’.
Another enduring feature of the apprenticeship process is the strong connection between masters and those they have taught. Three generations of jewellers –Paul Podolsky, Kevin Siggers and Andrew Wood – have all achieved excellence in their field, the foundations of their success based on the shared knowledge and experience which comes with this form of training. Their stories underline what makes an apprenticeship such a challenging and rewarding experience.
Paul Podol sky
As a child Paul had no intention of becoming a jeweller, even though his father ran a large Hatton Garden workshop supplying fine diamond jewellery to the retail trade in the West End of London. His interest was in art, but the outbreak of WWII meant that the commercial art firm, which he was to join after he finished school at 16, closed. Instead he began an apprenticeship in his father’s firm. Although not bound through the Goldsmiths’ Company, Paul’s training lasted for the usual length of time, until at 21 he was called up to join the army. He had spent many hours in the workshop as a little boy, learning how to operate a centre-lathe and fly press, but now he was part of a large team, comprising 30 diamond mounters, four setters, four polishers and a tool maker. His principal teachers were Albert Morley, Daley Wise, Jack Murdoch and Len Howes, all “first class craftsmen who didn’t hold anything back”.
As a new apprentice, earning 15 shillings a week, he started with the basics, learning how to make simple objects like wedding rings, the end pieces of platinum watches and bar brooches. He remembers the latter particularly vividly: about three months after starting work, the foreman called him into his office, explaining that they had just received a big order for two thousand silver bar brooches, and that Paul was going to make “every single one”. Although “there was a high mortality rate in saw blades… I can state, with feeling, that I learned a lot dealing with that order”. Paul was discovering the secret of apprentice training: practice makes perfect. Other essential skills learned included tool making, preparing metals, measuring accurately, drawing wire and rolling sheet. He regards these as essential for all apprentices, providing a foundation from which to attempt more complex tasks. Time in the workshop was supplemented by classes at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, where he learnt to design, winning a 30 shilling prize from the Goldsmiths’, Silversmiths’ and Jewellers’ Art Council in 1941.
After returning from military service he took over the running of the business, which became Albioncraft. As the head of a highly successful workshop, he became a master himself. Initially his apprentices were taken on through the British Jewellers’ Association, but once he gained his freedom in 1972 the Goldsmiths’ Company’s scheme was used. One of these apprentices was Kevin Siggers. Paul remembered receiving the telephone call out of the blue from Kevin, who asked if he had any jobs available. He had, and the two went on to develop a very fruitful working relationship, with Paul describing Kevin as “an exceptional apprentice in many ways and still a friend”. During his career, Paul took on 10 apprentices, and regarded the high standards that teaching imposes as being both a challenge and a benefit of being a master. Instructing someone else meant teaching them the best, rather than the cheapest way to do something. The fact that Paul was able to work with so many former apprentices as sub-contractors after they left his workshop underlined the rewards of this ethos.
Rock Pool brooch and detail, 18ct yellow & white gold, aquamarine, pearls & diamonds, designed by paul podolsky and made by Vic pain
Image: Ruth Moir
Kevin Siggers Andrew Wood
In contrast to his master, Kevin knew he wanted to become a jeweller from a young age. Both his parents had attended jewellery making evening classes, and, from that point, there was never any question about the career that he would follow. The husband of his art teacher was in the trade, and, during his final year of school in Gravesend, she recommended that he apply for a pre-apprenticeship training course as his next step. He was offered a place at Medway College of Art and spent a year there learning basic skills. To find somewhere to begin his apprenticeship proper, he remembered being given a name he had never heard of and a telephone number. When he called, Paul Podolsky was on the other end of the line – and was suitably impressed by his enthusiasm.
The Albioncraft workshop was large, which meant that Kevin did not have to run as many errands as some apprentices, instead spending all his time at the bench. Paul put him with Margot Mendes, who had worked alongside him while he was training in the 1940s. Kevin spent three and a half years learning from Margot, before, as he puts it, “he had to use his own brain”. Being part of a larger workshop had the additional advantage of allowing, periodically, apprentices to undertake big, time-consuming projects. Once a year, Paul would give his apprentices a complicated design to make, ensuring that they were extending their skills. Kevin still has an impressive pendant in the form of the head of Bacchus which was the result of one of these challenges. Kevin received his freedom in 1978, and, shortly afterwards, left Albioncraft and set out on his own, occasionally doing contract work for Paul, who
introduced him to some of his clients. He had been in the trade for 18 years when, at the age of 40, he decided it was time to become a master himself. His motivation was a problem common to craftsmen working at the highest level: he wanted to expand his business but was finding it difficult to obtain someone with the skills to work to his standard. His answer was to take on an apprentice and train him himself.
Once again it was a contact in a secondary school which provided a likely candidate: Andrew Wood. He had started at Kevin’s workshop at the age of 16, and Kevin knew that his apprentice was making good progress when one day Andrew challenged him on a technical point. He told Andrew to do it his own way, but that he would have to correct any problems in his own time. Andrew’s method was lengthy, but it worked, and it was very satisfying for Kevin to see him thinking for himself.
Today Kevin’s manufacturing business makes full use of modern technology, and his workshop includes CAD, laser and rapid prototyping equipment. However, it is his years of experience at the bench, understanding the construction of jewellery as both apprentice and master, which allows him to use digital technology so successfully to realise a finished product.
At the age of 15, Andrew Wood was already thinking about an apprenticeship – in carpentry! He enjoyed art and design at school, found the idea of an office job unappealing, and was working with a carpenter after school. Fortunately, a teacher, who knew that Kevin Siggers was looking for an apprentice, put his name forward as the most promising candidate. Andrew started in Kevin’s workshop in his spare time, quickly becoming fascinated by the technically demanding work. After finishing school Andrew joined him full time. Unlike Paul and Kevin’s experiences in very large workshops, for the first two years it was just the two of them, working side by side. Initially the jobs Andrew undertook were simple – making burnishing sticks or fabricating a locket by soldering two silver hearts together – but by his third year he was making things by himself. Kevin remembers the young Andrew as exceptionally practical, fixing motorbikes and building in his spare time, and this natural aptitude helped him to learn.
His early promise did not go unnoticed, and, at 19, he was entered into the UK Skills competition. Going on to represent Britain he won a bronze medal at the prestigious World Skills competition in Switzerland in 2003. Kevin described Andrew as an exceptional apprentice, and felt he was “very lucky” to find him.
In return Andrew was fortunate to have received such exacting training from a perfectionist like Kevin, who always pushed him to achieve a higher standard (or, as Kevin puts it, “was always complaining!”). He continued to work for Kevin after he was made free in 2002 until 2008, and, in 2009, he became a partner in the exclusive Mayfair firm, B&M Bijoux. According to Andrew this long learning process of 10 years, first as an apprentice, then
as an ‘improver’, is vital if one is to master one’s craft. He has taught apprentices himself, firstly in Kevin’s workshop, and described the process of teaching as very rewarding, although it requires a huge investment of that most precious of commodities – time – on both sides. In his experience apprenticeships are best started young, at 16, as younger people are more receptive to the intensive learning an apprenticeship requires.
Talking to these three masters, some common themes emerge. All agreed on the absolute importance of learning core skills during an apprenticeship. When asked to remember a particularly daunting job as an apprentice, each recalled that nothing really fazed them, as, in Kevin’s words, “once you have a certain level of skill, you know how to approach a problem”. Fundamental skills such as preparing metal or making a cluster ring are basic building blocks which can be used to solve more complex tasks. Related to this is their shared belief in the significance of practicing and perfecting techniques over the apprentice’s long term of service. All have, in different ways, embraced new technologies but they believe these are best exploited using the deep understanding of techniques taught through an apprenticeship, and that technology alone is not enough.
A vital thread which connects these three jewellers is a generosity of spirit and a willingness to share knowledge which lies at the heart of the apprenticeship system. Few modern learning experiences feature such intensive one-on-one tuition and give the time to develop. The young men and women who begin them benefit from the commitment to excellence of what is, in the words of Paul Podolsky, “a very friendly trade”. □
Image: Robin Kyte
Image: B&M Bijoux
heart earrings, 2002, 18ct gold & diamonds, set with detachable pearls, by Andrew Wood (made as his apprentice piece). Image: Kevin Siggers
bombé pendant, 18ct yellow & white gold, set with coloured stones & diamonds, by kevin siggers. Image: Kevin Siggers
Divers riche and costlye Jewells... the cheapside hoard
by Dr David Mitchell
The Cheapside Hoard, a great quantity of jewellery unearthed in 1912 on the site of Goldsmiths’ Row, will be the subject of a major exhibition at the Museum of London in October.
The Hoard contains a few jewels of foreign manufacture but most seem to have been made in London between 1580 and the Civil Wars in the 1640s when they were apparently hidden. For a number of authors, the Hoard has been important for showing an extensive stock of jewellery to appeal to the ‘middling sort’.
Hazel Forsyth, the curator of the forthcoming exhibition, rejects this view, for apart from ‘what might be called “general stock”, there are several articles of great rarity and value which would have made very acceptable royal gifts’ and she believes that ‘the importance, relative value and market potential of the Hoard should be reconsidered’. But could the finest jewels in the Hoard have been manufactured in London?
To produce such pieces, three conditions must be satisfied: the availability of fine gemstones; the presence of craftsmen skilled in stonecutting, enamelling and setting; and the knowledge of the latest fashions in design. It seems that in 1600, these conditions were met by certain English retailers in Goldsmiths’ Row working with a number of skilled stranger jewellers who were Protestant refugees from the Low Countries and France mainly living in Blackfriars or St Martin-le-Grand. From the middle of the 16th century until about 1630, stranger goldsmiths were required to swear to abide by the ordinances of the Goldsmiths’ Company upon receipt of testimonial letters from the Continental city from whence they came. In addition, those that became
as well as training several English apprentices. Amongst them was his nephew, Nicholas Herrick, who drove a similar trade until he fell to his death from his house in Cheapside in 1592. His probate inventory provides an interesting list of his stock. Another retailer of fine jewellery in the Row was John Mabbe the Younger who supplied Queen Elizabeth with ‘divers riche and costlye Jewells’ and who clearly commissioned wares from stranger subcontractors. In 1578, Thomas Simpson was fined for slandering Mabbe’s father, a Warden. He claimed that goods had been taken from a goldsmith in Foster Lane working on Simpson’s behalf but that Warden Mabbe had ‘let go’ those made for his son by another; namely Guy Hurtu, a jeweller from Orléans. Hurtu had arrived 10 years previously and had worked for two stranger masters, Jean le Cerf and Nicolas Lardenois, before establishing his own business.
‘denizens’ were accepted as masters having their wares assayed at the Hall and being permitted to have English apprentices turned over to them, becoming in effect ‘associate’ members of the Company. Along with these benefits came responsibilities, for they were required, along with English freemen, to attend the Hall on Quarter Days and to seek the arbitration of the Wardens to resolve disputes before resorting to the civil courts. Consequently, their activities were reflected in the records of the Goldsmiths’ Company which was no longer the case after 1630 when changes in policy essentially denied strangers ‘assay and touch’, forcing them ‘underground’. Before then, a number had close relationships with English goldsmiths through partnerships, direct employment as journeymen or commissions as subcontractors.
Edward Gilbert, a leading retailer of jewellery in Goldsmiths’ Row, employed four stranger journeymen
As to the availability of fine gemstones, during the reign of James I, Sir William Herrick –brother and former apprentice of Nicholas Herrick – supplied jewels to the Crown costing some £5,000, generally in partnership with Arnold Lulls, a stranger associated with a collection of jewellery drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Other jewels were supplied by Sir John Spilman, a stranger from Lindau on the Bodensee, sometimes in association with George Heriot who had accompanied James I south from Edinburgh. Some major gem merchants had started their careers as diamond cutters such as Sir Peter van Lore, first described as a ‘jeweller and stone cutter’ and John Blommaert who supplied a jewel in 1608 ‘in fashion of a feather set with diamonds’ as a ‘goldsmith’ in 1593 but as a ‘broker for jewels’ in 1618. For the fashioning of settings and enamelling, there were two groups of skilled strangers in Blackfriars: the first from the Low Countries which included Martin Garrett and the extended Lardenois family; and the
Three conditions must be satisfied: fine gemstones, skilled craftsmanship and knowledge of the latest fashions
second of French Huguenots from Paris centred around Martin Hardret and his sons Abraham and Jacob. Abraham was appointed a royal jeweller and Jacob received several commissions for Princess Elizabeth, the future Winter Queen. The Hardrets had close ties with other French jewellers but also with the wider trade.
This was exemplified by their choice of godparents: George Heriot and the wife of Peter van Lore were godparents to Martin Hardret’s daughter Rachel in 1603; and Heriot also served as godfather to the offspring of several French jewellers in Blackfriars, including Jacob Hardret. Finally, knowledge of the latest fashions was available through men such as Nicasius Roussell, to whom Charles Oman has attributed a number of engraved designs on English plate on the basis of his book of grotesques, published in London in 1623. There were others, however, with similar skills. Jacques Hurtu, the brother of Guy, was in London for about 10 years at the end of the 16th century and, in 1614, published a set of designs in Paris which are considered to be important precursors to the ‘peas-cod’ style. Perhaps a more influential figure was Eusebius Marchant who was in London in 1583 but subsequently registered his mark compagnon of the goldsmiths’ guild in Paris in 1600. He had returned to London by 1621 but three years later took as an apprentice in Paris, Henri Toutin, the son of the celebrated enameller, Jean Toutin. Eusebius’s son Pierre Marchant published at this time in Paris a set of innovative designs for brooches in the peas-cod style set with rose-cut as well as table-cut diamonds. It is therefore possible that the finest jewels within the Hoard were made by teams of stranger craftsmen in London under the direction of an English retailer or royal jeweller. It is perhaps significant that the jewel bought by the Prince of Orange from the Antwerp jeweller Gaspart Duarte in 1641, for the marriage of his son William to the Princess Royal, was ‘located’ in London by his son Jacob Duarte. This forthcoming exhibition will, no doubt, arouse significant interest in London’s role as a centre for the manufacture of jewellery of international quality. □
by Keith Tyssen
Brett Payne
Frequently, during the several popular retailing events now staged across Britain, one might see an apparently hypnotised huddle of visitors, gathered in rapt attention, before the show stand of Brett Payne.
Inevitably he will be wearing his customary white cotton gloves, and will be explaining quite brilliantly how he develops his ideas to create his eye-catching hallmarked candlesticks, his tableware and other heavyweight flatware.
One may also have seen his silver work featuring strongly in the impressive shows of new work staged by British Silver Week, most recently shown to great effect in the very fine exhibition space at the Goldsmiths’ Centre.
One might gather from this that Brett Payne is a showman of some distinction, which indeed he is, but he is also a dedicated and prolific designer/silversmith with a wellkitted-out workshop at Persistence Works in Sheffield.
It is here, in this highly organised, efficient, practical and down-to-earth, versatile environment, that one may find Brett either busily tutoring one of his mentees, enrolled in the silversmithing Starter Studio Programme for recent graduates, or, more than likely, burning the midnight oil working alone, hot forging heavy bars of sterling silver.
Brett Payne has wide-ranging abilities and skills, self-belief, dedication and commitment to manufacture and a willingness to engage with customers.
In Brett’s words “Today there exists a variety of public retail shows; as a development of early ‘craft fairs’ these shows now proffer an increasingly sophisticated mix of individual contemporary artisans, a market place which when put together stretches across the UK and into Europe. In a world where all high streets and shopping centres look increasingly alike, these shows allow individuality and creativity to find a voice. In many ways they are the equivalent of the musicians’ live performance, to do them well they demand a total concentration on all aspects of the
creative process.” Brett observes “the ‘public’ are red in tooth and claw... they expect you to be good and they instinctively know when something is right. Designers should neither be afraid of them nor condescending towards them. There is little point professing that you want to challenge people’s preconceptions if you are not prepared to enter the lion’s den.” He goes on to suggest “both jewellery making and silversmithing are applied arts and at their best they should demand, and be capable of enduring, a direct response”.
Brett Payne was born in Kent, to parents who were Quakers, and he grew up in a small village where his family’s unconventional lifestyle marked them out. They were vegetarians and teetotal, early exponents of wholemeal and organic food, they did not own a car or a television and his father’s interest in the early days of the environmental and conservation movements was seen as somewhat eccentric.
Brett went to a grammar school where in his own words he “benefitted from a wonderful liberal education, taught by masters who were passionate about their subjects in an environment that nurtured and rewarded the curious mind”. He considers that in many ways it is this combination of circumstances that has informed and determined much of his subsequent career.
On completing one year of Art Foundation Studies, he was admitted to Sheffield College of Art onto the undergraduate Design course that combined instruction in technique with elements of design theory in a city whose heritage and traditions of both fine and heavy metal working were still very evident. Brett remembers his time on the course as being “a mixture of the excitement and fascination that comes with learning new skills and processes”. At that time, he recalls “there seemed to be ample scope for one to design and make jewellery that was relevant to the social context of the time; it was the end of the ‘punk’ era and the beginning of what was then called ‘New Wave’ and the New Romantics. As students we felt we could be part of this creative upsurge in popular culture by designing and making jewellery in unconventional forms, using unconventional materials and subverting the existing norms. Silversmithing, by contrast, seemed to be less relevant to society. As a material, it was associated with the Victorian country house and... seemed impossibly bourgeois, old-fashioned and irrelevant in a modern context.”
During the late 1970s and early 80s, Brett, then a young student full of aspirations, ideas and passion for social and political history and the English novel, began to
concentrate on design and the practicalities of making pieces of jewellery rather than silversmithing. Brett’s ideas and beliefs were thus informed by this background and through his extensive travels across Europe and around the world and were characterised by his determination to see his ideas become a reality.
Unable to find a job within a company willing to allow him to develop and produce the work he wanted to do, Brett set up his own small workshop to pursue his ideas independently. In 1982, Brett joined a fledgling group of like-minded artists and makers who leased one of Sheffield’s many abandoned industrial factories and established one of the country’s first ‘Artspaces’ and, for 20 years, he served on its various management and organisational committees.
“Necessity being the mother of invention, my inability to find a job with a sympathetic employer forced me to pursue my ideas independently. Initially I felt a sense of failure and disappointment but I am convinced that independence has been the very thing that has nurtured and developed my creativity. As a young and very inexperienced designer I was arrogant enough to believe that my ideas were good and with the interaction and support of a group of other makers and artists, similarly ‘out in the cold’ we were able to develop our own way of doing things and experiment with everything from technique to marketing.”
Jewellery is like music... it is only live performance that reveals whether it has a soul
Throughout much of the 1980s Brett Payne combined the pursuit of his own work with a job teaching socially disadvantaged teenagers with behavioural disabilities in Rotherham. “I found them fascinating and endearing, and their lack of engagement with society and lack of respect was at once both enlightening and yet terribly dangerous, both for themselves and for the rest of us. But their rebellion, in almost all cases, made them very individual and I was constantly surprised how receptive they were to new things and ideas. I was nominally contracted to teach an ‘art’ component and together we created some fascinating work, my experience with those kids reaffirmed my belief in the innate creativity of the human mind and the positive benefits, and pure enjoyment, of immersing oneself in the task of making something well.”
Image: Nick James
Swan bracelet, 1993, silver with 18ct gold
By the end of the 1980s, Brett was becoming increasingly fascinated with the processes and mechanics of business and the challenges it presented to a design-led approach. He resigned from his teaching job to concentrate on turning his small workshop practice into a business. “I had come to the belief that the process of ‘design’ does not stop at the point where making begins, or indeed where the making is complete. For me the process of design, or perhaps the concern of the designer, should encompass the entire process of creation, from the inception of the idea, through the process of production and right to the point of sale and I wanted to build a business model that genuinely and honestly reflected that belief.”
Selling work in a gallery environment can isolate the designer from his audience and, in Brett’s view, designing good jewellery depends on understanding, enjoyment and a willingness to engage with people. “Good jewellery only comes to life when it is worn, the human being is essential to it realising its full potential. To do this a designer must know his audience, try to understand their character, experience their reactions, notice what makes them laugh, or cry, what turns them on and what makes them feel alive.” At this point there’s no stopping Brett! He continues “To me, jewellery is like music or theatre, it can be recorded in a studio, held captive in a showcase, it can be written about and photographed but it is only live performance that reveals whether it has a soul.”
Brett Payne was looking for alternatives to the conventional ways of putting his work into the public domain, wanting to reach a broader, more diverse public that enabled more direct interaction than conventional shops and galleries. An alternative was to exhibit at shows like the Chelsea Craft Fair and the Goldsmiths’ Fair.
What Brett discovered in trying them was how “They presented a genuine opportunity to break down the barriers between the consumer and the producer.” At the time, these shows were seen as a ‘taster exercise’, a way of accessing more traditional routes to market, i.e. of selling ‘stock’ to gallery owners, but Brett saw in the craft fairs an alternative way which, if developed successfully, could afford the possibility of putting his work before new audiences.
There is a wonderful paradox about trying to be a silversmith in the 21st century
Brett Payne’s business grew through the 1990s and he received prizes and awards both from the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council, of which he is now Chairman, and the coveted ‘Designer of the Year’ Award at the UK Jewellery Awards.
Of this time, Brett describes how his attention was turning “to consider if it might now be possible to similarly begin a new and contemporary form of silversmithing. Presented directly to the public, one that would directly address the needs of the modern home environment rather than confining itself to the more traditional remnants of the formal Victorian middle class dining room, the European tradition of ‘Gastronomy’, or even the needs of the museum and collector to acquire a piece of virtuoso craftsmanship.”
Brett then took the decision “with uncompromising determination to completely cease production” of his
jewellery and to start afresh with a blank sheet of paper.
“I did not want the jewellery to degenerate into a production brand – that would have been to betray the whole idea of what I had set out to create, ...individual pieces, handmade by an individual maker, readily available to all at an affordable price with a genuinely personal service.”
Brett has described how “there is a wonderful paradox about trying to be a silversmith in the 21st century, a period where most of the traditional items made by a silversmith are no longer in use and there are many who would lead one to believe that it is impossible to be both original and creative whilst at the same time make a profitable business out of it.” The solution as Brett sees it “is to pay attention to what people today use in their everyday lives, in their kitchens and their living rooms, and to use silver as a modern material to make objects for modern living... gone are the days when people generally use a teapot, let alone a silver tea-set or a silver coffee-pot, who really uses silver vases, or cocktail shakers or even drinking vessels? These traditional items have their place but they distract the contemporary designer from the real challenge – that of making silver acceptable as a modern material suitable for today’s domestic environment.”
In 2005, Brett ceased production of jewellery and devoted himself to trying to evolve these ideas. Since then he has developed an impressive range of silver pieces from candlesticks to cookware, from flatware to hollowware, all thoughtfully designed and made to combine the best aspects of the material with use and enjoyment very much in mind. He has set himself a formidable challenge in readily acknowledging “ninety-nine percent of the population own and wear jewellery and ninety-nine percent of them are eager to acquire more, but ninety-nine
percent of people don’t own any silverware and see it as an indulgence they need not enter into. The challenge is to show them objects and ideas in silver that will give them lasting use and enjoyment over an entire lifetime, not just on special occasions.”
What Brett Payne is aiming to achieve with his ‘energised’ approach to presenting design in silver to a wider audience has my admiration and applause. He may just be onto something, where a particular quality of form, visual style and practical usefulness are of the essence in presenting the right message.
Silver must now find voice to excite and engender affection beyond merely respect and reverence. Brett has taken on the big challenge for the modern silversmith, to produce pieces “that will spend their time in human hands and on our tables longer than in the display case.”
He has developed an impressive range of silver pieces... all thoughtfully designed and made
A formidable challenge indeed, for any silversmith and irresistible to some. Brett Payne, in his workshop in Sheffield, is producing an ever increasing range of possible ideas and interesting responses, always mindful of this crucial test and of reconciling the artist’s love affair with his discipline, with the artisan’s practical approach to the market.
Right here and now, silver is becoming exciting. □
pair of Xy candlesticks, 2007, silver. Both images: Jerry Lampson
Argo III candlestick, 2010, silver
Phil Barnes
In 2012 Phil Barnes, enameller extraordinaire, was awarded ‘Master of Crafts’ in the metal section of the Balvenie Master of Craft Awards, which is jointly sponsored with the SundayTelegraph.
This is just the latest of many accolades which he has acquired over a long career as a leading engraverenameller, working predominately for silversmiths supplying the luxury trade retail houses such as Cartier, Garrard and Asprey.
Now he also designs and makes up individual pieces of jewellery and silver objetsd’art using his consummate skills and experience to create unique pieces that exemplify the brilliant translucent colour effects possible with this demanding medium. His other justly deserved awards since 1971 include those of Jacques Cartier ‘Craftsman of the Year’ and numerous first prizes in the enamel section of the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council awards. In 1978 he was awarded the Freedom of the Goldsmiths’ Company and of the City of London.
Phil’s passion for enamel is perhaps not surprising given his upbringing. His father was Charles Frank (Fred) Barnes (1913–89) who, in 1962, founded the workshop of Barnes and Company. This firm was one of the leading enamellers for the London and international retail jewellery and silver businesses and originally specialised in engraving and enamelling for insignia, medals and badges. However its work on precious metals soon expanded to include box lids, watch cases, clocks and sword hilts, all of which were designed for the luxury end of the trade.
Working with enamel as a young child, Phil was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. He loved this medium so much that he became apprenticed to Fred at the tender age of 15.
At that time there were five others in the workshop including an older apprentice and, over the next 14 years, he experienced the best possible training in all enamelling techniques carried out to the highest professional standard. As well as being a highly skilled craftsman, Phil’s father had willingly taken on the role of educator, training both his apprentices and students in enamelling at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London and subsequently at the Sir John Cass School of Art and Design, Whitechapel (now part of London Metropolitan University). This training proved invaluable when Phil started his own business in Clapham after his father retired in 1983. He was soon working on much more involved and complicated pieces, thereby rising to greater challenges.
Over the years Phil has also proved to be both passionate and wholly generous with his knowledge of enamel – for 15 years he too was a visiting lecturer at the ‘Cass’. He teaches short courses from his own workshop and has given master classes both in this country and in the USA. He has also given demonstrations, notably of champlevé cutting, at the Goldsmiths’ Hall exhibition entitled TheArtofEnamelling, where he helped to demystify this ancient craft to the general public.
I first met Phil when I became a part-time student on the City and Guilds course at the 'Cass' in the early 1980s.
My initial training had been in textiles and painting, but when I attended an ILEA short course for art teachers I discovered enamel and my creative life thankfully changed direction. Under the expert tuition of the teachers at the 'Cass', I obtained an Advanced City and Guilds certificate specialising in enamel on jewellery and silversmithing and feel privileged to have been trained in all the traditional techniques of enamel by Phil Barnes. As a result of his strict but thorough tuition, both myself and two others, Sarah Letts and Sarah Wilson, went on to teach on the same course over the next 18 years.
Phil continued to support me as a designer/enameller in 1990 and introduced me to experts in other trades, such as die stampers, platers and polishers, as well as showing me how to set up my business and to present estimates for trade jobs. Over the years, he has always been generous with his time and mentored many other jewellers and silversmiths, often solving their problems over the telephone.
Although I think Phil enjoyed and saw value in his college teaching, his main belief is in the apprentice system of learning. Over the years he has trained three apprentices, each for five years. Phil believes that this is the best way to learn the multifarious skills and demanding techniques needed to produce high quality work. He feels that in the college system where a student may only have enamel teaching once a week there is not enough time to impart all the necessary knowledge or to build up skills by repetition.
The apprentices were supported by the Goldsmiths’ Company, which for many years have offered a bursary scheme supporting the master and apprentice with a sum of money, which initially starts at a high level but is reduced as the apprentice begins to earn money for the workshop, perhaps only after two years.
goldsmithing projects for Far Eastern sultanates and Indian princes that lasted for months’. He also encouraged both Sarah and the late Chris Sole, his brilliant assistant champlevé cutter, to enter the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council awards competition and to create pieces of their own design that extended their skills and creativity. For this generosity and guidance they both won top awards. Sarah also fondly recalls that, as well as learning the intricacies of enamelling, she was coached in the nuances of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries and the arcane laws of cricket!
Sarah Wilson was his first indentured apprentice and the first ever female enamel apprentice. She writes of her unique learning experience ‘Yes, there were hundreds and hundreds of cufflinks and piles of medals and regalia, but working with Phil gave me the opportunity to be involved with large complicated
In 1985, Phil and a group of enamel artists formed The British Society of Enamellers, of which he was the chairman for several years. Its remit was to raise the profile of enamel, not only educating the general public, but also arranging exhibitions, master classes and international conferences every couple of years. All the committee members gave their time freely and indeed Phil was a valued member for many years.
To this day Phil is anxious that the ancient and mysterious craft of enamelling does not die out. He has recently observed, in an article for CraftandDesign magazine, that college tuition fees today cost thousands of pounds but an apprenticeship costs the apprentice nothing. Instead the financial burden falls on the employer. During the Middle Ages parents paid the master for apprenticeships for their sons and masters relied on patronage.
The Goldsmiths’ Company has embarked on a training scheme for the young with its new Centre, but there is also a need for the government to support meaningful apprenticeship schemes and college courses, otherwise this country will no longer be seen as a centre of excellence in ideas, inventiveness and creativity.
Phil has written that at the start of his career his father told him that “You’ll never make a fortune working with your hands, but if you want to do it you will have a good life” and happily, today, Phil agrees with him. □
by Joan Mackarell
Image: Linda Wilson
phil barnes at work. Image: Linda Wilson
Reptile box, 2012, silver, champlevé enamel & rock crystal (lid). Image: Peter White
standing circular dish, 2008, silver, champlevé enamel & glass (feet). Image: Peter White
Innumerable ways...
by Abigail Brown
As an artist craftsman, I believe it is important to ensure that I am continually inspired and seek new experiences to keep my artistic practice fresh and interesting, for myself and for those who view and collect my work.
In 2010 I came across an opportunity on the internet for an artist to spend time alongside the National Park Service (NPS) within the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. A career as a silversmith by definition means an interesting life, and a trip to Alaska might be another way to ensure that I continued and actively developed this ethos. I felt compelled to apply.
The Gates of the Arctic is the most remote national park in the USA and is not accessible by road; visitors must walk in or use air taxis. It is the northernmost national park, with its entirety lying north of the Arctic Circle, and, at 13,238 square miles, the second largest, about the same size as Switzerland. It consists primarily of portions of the Brooks Range Mountains, and has no trees, as it is predominantly permafrost (ground that is frozen consistently for at least two years). Despite its size, the park attracts relatively few visitors, approximately 2,000 per year, due to its remote location.
To apply for the residency, I put forward a proposal about my interest in the park and its connection to my discipline within the arts. In addition to demonstrating my artistic ability, I also had to prove my capability to undertake a trip that would involve extended wilderness travel.
At the time of my application I was living on ‘Ibis’, an east coast oyster smack built in 1888, on a tidal mooring. At high tide I needed to row to the boat and bring all my supplies on board via dinghy – food, water, fuel for heating. This seemed to satisfy the application board – although the wildlife on the Fal River is somewhat less aggressive than that of the Arctic!
In August 2011, I travelled to the Rangers’ Station in Bettles, a town with only 30 year-round residents and only accessible by air in the summer months. From here the NPS arranged for myself and another artist to join a Ranger patrol on the Noatak River, an hour and a half flight by float plane into the west of the park and away from the nearest settlement.
The Ranger patrol involved a float trip along the Noatak River, using inflatable Grabner canoes and camping in freezing temperatures along the river on the gravel bars or tundra. There were three other members of the group: Park Ranger Sarah Rice; volunteer Richard Kahn (an Emmy Award winning documentary maker); and an American scientific illustrator, Kristin Link.
My initial proposal for the residency was based on research about the gold rush of 1898; the environmental and social implications that occurred at the time, and the lasting impact this has had on the native population. During my time in the park I gathered research material (field sketches, photographs, organic matter and found materials) for further development into a body of work. I
found the plant life of the tundra particularly fascinating, such intricate and delicate detail under vast skies and harsh landscapes. Some of the plants take three years to produce a flower due to the short growing season, and the tussocks can be over 150 years old.
This was a quiet and contemplative time: learning to pass through the landscape with as little impact as possible; to leave no trace; to observe the passing of time in a different way to the modern world; and to move quietly in order to see the wildlife in such a huge landscape. I was very privileged to see a number of rare sights during my stay – wolves, moose, caribou; a very large grizzly bear (rather closer than I would have liked); and, on my final night in the park, I saw the aurora borealis – the perfect end to the trip.
The purpose of the residency for the NPS is to demonstrate to the public how differently people can respond to, and be inspired by, the Gates of the Arctic National Park and to raise awareness of this little known park and the issues surrounding preserving one of the last great wildernesses on earth.
Since the residency I have been developing a new range within my body of work. Developing my hammer forming method in a new direction, I have produced a series of copper vessels with gold detail that echo the copper and gold mining history of the area. The copper also allowed me to explore heat patination in order to replicate the deep red of the bearberry plant that was so prevalent in
the park at the time of my visit. I have also begun to utilise the technique of chasing to provide a suggestion of the detail within the park landscape and plant life. This series of vessels has also extended into my silverware collection: Tundra vessel in Britannia silver was displayed with the Contemporary British Silversmiths’ exhibition Fitfor Purpose at the Victoria and Albert Museum throughout the summer of 2012.
I gained a great deal from this experience, both personally and from an artistic perspective. I appreciated the opportunity to spend time outside of my normal situation, to look deeply at a unique environment in a quiet and solitary way and to develop a body of research within my sketchbook. In particular I enjoyed undertaking observational drawing, something that I rarely have a chance to do in everyday life. The trip has highlighted the need for me to make time for such activity within my life and my practice, and it has now become a priority.
The Goldsmiths' Company provided me with a grant towards the cost of this expedition. I believe that this kind of support is invaluable, not only generally in the applied arts, but specifically within the field of jewellery and silversmithing to encourage artists to have unusual and inspiring experiences that can only benefit their professional development – in innumerable ways. □
Above: Image: Richard Kahn. middle: Seed Head field sketch, 2011, pencil on paper. Image: Abigail Brown. Right: Tundra vessel, 2012, britannia silver, oxidised, hammer formed. Image: Clarissa Bruce
Crafts Lives:voices of silver and gold
by Elizabeth Wright
Crafts Lives is a collection of oral history interviews created by National Life Stories (NLS), an independent charitable trust based within the British Library. This ongoing project has recorded over 120 practitioners across a range of British studio crafts including glass, ceramics, furniture, textiles, jewellery, basketry, calligraphy, book arts and, of course, metalwork. In fact, the Goldsmiths' Company contributed to the initial funding of CraftsLives
in 1999 and has provided important support for the project since that time. NLS interviews are created using the life story approach, which situates a person’s work and career within the context of their whole life. A typical recording is created over several sessions and covers topics including family background, childhood, education and personal life; as well as career and key pieces of work. Each life story tracks the common influences and shared values, in
addition to the varied ideas and approaches, which have shaped the crafts in Britain within living memory in the context of broader social history.
I have had the pleasure of interviewing silversmiths and jewellers for CraftsLivesover the past three years and, for me, one fascinating aspect of the recordings is that they capture the range of influences that shape a person’s decision to create objects from metal. Michael Lloyd, for example, described
finding an affinity with this material during his time as a student at the Birmingham School of Jewellery and Silversmithing: “I hadn’t encountered the malleability of metal [before] and actually it’s the malleability that really excites me about metal, the fact that you can move it and really as long as you are working with it, not imposing
Later in the recording, Jane described her reasons for choosing to pursue a course in jewellery and mentioned this early experience as a factor in the decision-making process.
The first piece that Rod Kelly made from metal was, coincidentally, also a bracelet, created during his foundation year in Lancashire.
It’s the malleability of metal that is really exciting, the fact that you can move it...
yourself on it, you can always take it one stage further. There is, I feel, an enormous primeval urge to take an inanimate object – which in my case is just this flat disc of silver – and through working just with hands, hammer and heat you’re bringing it to life, and at some stage this flat disc is evolving into this form that sings out.”
It is, however, a lifetime spent exploring the natural world that influences much of the imagery seen in Michael’s work, as he reflected: “Where do you start in your design career? I think it’s probably going back to my first natural history observations. Just looking at things, you’re gradually building up a dictionary of forms that fascinate you from seed heads to everything that you see.”
Jane Short also spoke about interests developed during her childhood in Devon, as well the people around her who were making things for the home or as hobbies. This includes her father, Ronald Short, who helped Jane to make her first pieces of jewellery from copper and other household materials: “I made a little brooch shaped like beech leaves from an old nail or something, chased with veins and lead-soldered together. And I made a bracelet out of bits of copper – very simple – just ovals with a hole punched in either end and then smaller links that you get from a chain for something like a toilet pull”.
their own approach to work. During his time at Birmingham, Rod Kelly recalled his response to meeting one former student: “I remember on one occasion, an ex-student came into the department, a man that I’d never met before called Michael Lloyd, and he was very approachable and I remember he had the most wonderful hammers, and I was just so impressed. The shafts of his hammers had been soaked in linseed oil and, to me, I just thought ‘this is inspirational’.”
However, this was not Rod’s first experience of creating metal objects; that came much earlier during visits to his grandmother’s home in Consett, County Durham:
“At the end of where my grandma lived, there was a blacksmith, and they used to shoe pit ponies and make the horseshoes. So if I was staying there for a week I would wander out from where my grandma lived, and I’d stand and watch the blacksmith and after a little while, after grandma introduced me, I’d start to do bits of work with them.
And I remember having my good
...the fact that you can always take it one stage further.
school shoes on and the blacksmith put down a red hot piece of iron that he’d been forging and I stood on it and it went right through the sole of my best shoes. I think those first little experiences of being in the blacksmiths workshop and watching what was going on – I was probably a nuisance really, but I thought I was helping – these are the memories that stay with you.”
In addition to encounters with materials and concepts, other significant influences found in the interviews are the people who pass on knowledge, help to nurture emerging talent or provide an example through
Interviewees often refer to insight gleaned from important teachers such as Gerald Benney and Michael Rowe, or key practitioners like Malcolm Appleby, Kevin Coates and Jacqueline Mina. In fact, all of these individuals have been interviewed themselves for CraftsLives(or are in the process of being interviewed), which means that a search on the British Library Sound and Moving Image Catalogue can lead to an individual’s own firsthand account, as well as to what others have said about them, mapping the connections and influences between people. The full catalogue can be searched online using the British Library Sound and Moving Image Catalogue: www.cadensa.bl.uk (catalogue no. C960).
This article contains a small sample of what CraftsLives interviews can offer and hopes to encourage further exploration of the collection. CraftsLivesinterviews can be listened to at the British Library in St. Pancras, London and in Boston Spa, Yorkshire. □
elizabeth Wright and michael Rowe at the british Library with one of michael's pieces, Cylindrical vessel 1984 Image: Bill Knight
the Goldsmiths’ centre Allied Trades &
by Peter Taylor
Since the building was taken over from the contractor on 4 February 2012, much has happened.
This article will capture some of the most notable events and developments surrounding the opening of this landmark development for the Goldsmiths’ Company. It will also focus upon one of the many unique aspects of the Centre – the tenants who occupy a range of workspaces in the building, from the smallest starter units to its largest workshop.
In January 2012, the first tenants began to move in before the building was finished. Clive Burr and Elliot & Fitzpatrick were, in development parlance, ‘anchor tenants’ for the project having committed early on to taking space in the building. Repeated delays to completion had meant that they were literally packed and ready to move in when given the green light in January to do so. Whilst builders in hard hats worked around them they set about establishing their workshops which became operational early in February.
As the building gradually came to life, work continued on a comprehensive snagging list that encompassed many aspects of the building’s construction – some major and many minor items required correction by the contractor. The driver for the completion of these works was an agreement by HRH Princess Alexandra formally to open the Centre on 25 April 2012. She duly arrived at the arranged date and her visit was reported in last year’s Review
Her visit and the official opening coincided with the Centre’s first exhibition which celebrated the
redevelopment and purpose of the site and also showcased many of the education and training initiatives supported by the Goldsmiths’ Company. It featured recent attendees on the annual Getting Startedprogramme as well as beneficiaries of a joint programme, Hothouse, organised by the Crafts Council and the Company, which was focused on developing the practices and creativity of new designers and makers.
Alongside this exhibition was shown the work of four generations of apprentices – Paul Podolsky, the master of Kevin Siggers, who, in turn, trained Andrew Wood, who bound his first apprentice, Amy Webb, in 2012. This continuity, demonstrated by the connections between these individuals, is a testament to the power of the apprenticeship model and the impact that this has on the continuation of the craft.
Turning to other education and training matters, the first cohort of the premier course within the Institute, the Postgraduate Professional Design Programme, was recruited in February 2012. Four jewellery and two silversmithing graduates comprised the initial group to benefit from the guidance of Stuart Devlin who had masterminded the evolution of this ground-breaking course focused upon creativity.
Benefitting from access to a communal studio space and, later in the year, a prototyping workshop, the attendees followed a structured programme which developed their creativity, drawing and communication skills. Traditional presentation skills were complemented by access to state of the art Computer Aided Design training for all participants. At the end of 2012 four of the original six postgraduates opted to stay on for a further six months to develop their portfolios and business ideas further whilst the other two left to pursue, respectively, a place at the Royal College of Art and a job with a major manufacturing business. There is no doubt that the work with postgraduates will mature and evolve over the coming years but the foundation laid by this first year will undoubtedly have a huge influence on what is done in the future.
Talking of the future, in May 2012, the process of recruiting the first group of Apprentice Foundation Programme trainees began. Eight places were on offer – 20 youngsters
Both images: Julia Skupny
applied and seven were offered places. The successful applicants had demonstrated their aptitude and eagerness through a series of challenging tests which included bench work, model making (20 plastic model kits of the Titanic having been purchased for the purpose), along with drawing tests and a formal interview. All of this took place over two days and, at the end of the process, the first cohort of trainees had been selected.
Having taken the decision to postpone specialist fit-out until after the main contract was completed, work had begun in earnest on the course workshops after practical completion in February. The new purpose-built jewellery, silversmithing and process workshops were ready, after the summer, for their first users. The training facilities at the Centre are compact, ‘bijoux’ and second to none. They sum up perfectly the high quality and specialist nature of what the Centre is providing and the feedback from all users, both masters and trainees, has been very positive.
The first Apprentice Foundation group to use the workshops began their training in September with a six week probationary period, which they all passed. The progress that they are making is nothing short of remarkable and even the most critical craftsmen have been impressed. What they are achieving demonstrates that if someone is trained for eight hours per day for five days per week and they have some ability to begin with they are going to produce great outcomes. If the early stages of this course are any indication then the output of this programme is going to be peerless here in the UK, something of which both the Company and the Trustees can be rightly proud.
The effectiveness of the courses is down to access to skilled craftspeople and their professional techniques
Future developments in this area of the Centre’s operation are now well advanced with the planning of short and part-time courses offering City & Guilds qualifications. These will focus upon trade skills and be offered on a variety of levels – from beginner to advanced. The aim is also to reintroduce, from 2013, day-release for the Goldsmiths’ Company’s apprentices as well as a range of qualifications that are fit for purpose and orientated towards the craft and industry.
An important element of the effectiveness of these courses is the access to the skilled craftspeople and their professional techniques and processes in the tenanted workshops at the Goldsmiths’ Centre.
Fifteen larger scale workshops are on site, all of which are occupied, and there are nine starter studios which are
licensed on a rolling basis to those new to the industry. What is amazing about the Centre is the diversity of the skilled trades and services that are available. These include A & W Setters, who offer a range of setting services to the industry including incredibly fine and precise work using microscopes and air-powered tools as well as more traditional techniques, and engravers Sam Marsden and James Neville, along with Graham Saggers who rents a peg in the Elliot & Fitzpatrick workshop.
Elliot & Fitzpatrick, who offer a range of polishing, finishing and manufacturing services out of their first floor workshop, are a perfect example of the unique nature of the building’s training environment. One morning I walked into the ground floor workshop which houses the Apprentice Foundation Programme where they were watching a training DVD on polishing and finishing. This in itself was great to see as there are few classrooms where practical teaching can take place alongside this kind of audio-visual resource. However the key feature, which sets this learning experience apart for the trainees, is that, after they had watched the DVD in question they then stood up and walked up a couple of flights of stairs into the Elliot & Fitzpatrick workshop where they actually saw it happening. A skilled polisher is vital to the craft and observing these skills demonstrated live in a safe environment was wonderful to see.
Other examples of the great contribution made by tenants to the work of the Centre are those that Paul York, goldsmith, and Clive Burr, silversmith, are making to the Apprentice Foundation and Postgraduate Programmes – offering their time, expertise and enthusiasm to those groups through bench skills and mentoring. When the Trustees formulated and agreed this approach this is exactly what they hoped would happen. Making use of the other specialists on site is a key feature of future plans.
Another example is David Valle, a digital sculptor, who uses Computer Aided Design to produce pieces which are both complex and beautiful and which are realised using rapid prototyping. The firm, Jewellery Innovations, which offers a full design, rapid prototyping, casting and production facility, has a wealth of knowledge and experience available to those studying within the Institute.
It is the depth and breadth of the community on site that makes the Centre unique and special – enabling tenants to take a design from conception through to completion without leaving the building. Moreover, their presence also means that there is a steady stream of trade visitors
to the building who are making use of their services. So, hopefully, over time, this can only add to the overall value of the Centre to the craft and industry.
Trade visitors arrive and rub shoulders with non-trade guests of the Centre who are hiring the spaces available for events and conferences. This is an important source of revenue as all profits are ploughed back into the Centre and help to maintain the quality of the educational programmes which are expensive to run.
It is worth noting that, whilst it is the generosity of the Goldsmiths’ Company which developed the Centre in the first place, and it is currently heavily subsidising its operation, ultimately the Centre will need to be as financially independent as possible from the Company. This will not happen overnight or, indeed, in all likelihood in the near future, but nevertheless it has to be the aim of the team working at the Centre.
It is gratifying therefore to be able to report that significant gifts have been received in the last 12 months: of equipment, much of which originally belonged to Stuart Devlin; of tools including a lifetime of chasing and repoussé tools donated by David Moorcroft; and of precious stones – with significant gifts from Cartier and Wild & Petsch. The fundraising programme for the future is under development and anyone who wishes to support what the Goldsmiths’ Centre is seeking to achieve should not hesitate to contact me or one of the team.
Before closing this report I should thank all those who have supported the Goldsmiths’ Centre over the last 12 months. Martin Dru Drury stood down as Chairman of Trustees but has continued to serve on the Board as a Trustee. His contribution to the success of the construction project is unquestionable. He has been replaced as Chairman by Dame Lynne Brindley, who brings a wealth of operational and strategic experience as the Goldsmiths’ Centre enters this new and important phase in its development. She will be assisted in this by three new Board level appointments – Ms Heather Norman-Soderlind (marketing), Professor Jack Cunningham (education) and Mr Edward Braham (law). Other Board members remain as previously reported. It is also beholden to me to thank the team here at the Goldsmiths’ Centre which has worked tirelessly over the last year to make the building come to life.
So, to summarise, the first full year of the Goldsmiths’ Centre has been an eventful one. Many important milestones have been reached and passed and I look forward to reporting, in next year’s Review , the progress that has been made. □
Ray Walton with pre-apprentice Abi buckingham. Image: Robin Kyte
All images above: Julia Skupny
pAuL spuRGeon less is more
by Melanie Eddy
Paul Spurgeon is well known in the jewellery world for his superbly crafted, predominantly platinum and diamond, refined and minimal jewellery – clean lines, smooth curves. He is a two-time UK Jewellery Award winner with a flurry of De Beers promotional campaigns under his belt.
On a frosty day in January, that would have been called a 'white out' when I used to live in Canada, I visited his workshop in Hadstock in Cambridge to interview him; the train sliding through what appeared to be a frozen tundra between London and Cambridge. It seemed so fitting considering Paul’s cool, crisp, undulating jewellery. However, that would only be half of the story. As for much in this world: appearances are not everything.
Paul’s practice straddles this quiet tranquil setting on the edge of a village in the countryside and the hustle, bustle and chaos of Soweto, the most metropolitan township of South Africa. It is a rapidly developing municipality of Johannesburg but one whose populace still faces tremendous struggles in regards to poverty, crime and lack of professional services and employment. It is here that he collaborates with Nqobile Nkosi on Cornerstone. He is “spiritually and physically drawn between the two bases”, but more of that later.
Paul talked about these aspects of his life and work with such enthusiasm and vigour that it was sometimes hard to keep up with notes, and I resorted to recording most of the interview to capture the flow of the conversation. This may seem at odds with the cool calm aesthetic of his work, but when I realised that I was talking to a man who was once a potential Formula 1 racing driver, things fell into place. He was, at one time, albeit at a distance, the teammate of Ayrton Senna when the team was sponsored by Toleman. He sees his work as “quite minimal, very organic – the antithesis of our daily lives”. That thought was crystallised when he spoke of his client base as predominantly professionals – all “people that lead very busy, complicated and stressed lives who quite often want a piece of jewellery that reflects the opposite”. I gained the impression that his jewellery (and his process of crafting master patterns for his collections) was like the calm in the eye of a hurricane.
Having seen him at work, methodically teaching wax carving to a group of 30 Afghans, in Jaipur, India, he was essentially the calm steady centre of a flurry of activity.
Paul began his career in jewellery in Southend, as an apprentice to David Pearce, of whom he spoke fondly as "a real gentleman”. David, a master goldsmith, made everything from miniature suits of armour, fairy galleons and coaches, incorporating nautilus and sea urchin shells, to intricately carved figurines. Paul recalled commissions for Elton John and Suzie Quatro. A “complete genius on every level”, Paul considers David’s work, his illustrations and his aesthetic interests as having a strong influence on his own artistic development.
His parents had sent Paul to David, knowing he had recently had an apprentice move on, and they knew he would be perfect for Paul. They must have been well suited because Paul remained with David for 10 years and still refers to him as his mentor. Paul attended day-release and evening classes at the Sir John Cass College. He worked as a setter for Soudé Jewellery in Hatton Garden and as a jeweller with Frank Kenney in Southend before striking out on his own, in 1984, in a small workshop at home. Frank supplied him with repair work until Paul no longer needed to take on that work to support his new growing business.
He believes that to become a skilled craftsman one has to pay one’s dues, that there is “no getting away from it”. He recalled his engraving classes at the Sir John Cass –engraving lines, one after another after another, over and over again. It was just “what has to be done”. René Lalique is another strong source of inspiration, and Paul spoke of being profoundly affected by the exhibition at Goldsmiths’ Hall in 1987. Citing the experience as the first time he had ever seen “jewellery that moved but didn’t move”, he was mesmerised by a stylised dragonfly which appeared to pulsate in its showcase.
It may seem surprising that someone, with such a signature pared down aesthetic to his own work, could have such over-the-top and richly detailed influences. However, whilst his inspirations are so highly detailed and emotive, he himself is content to apply his own form of reductionism to the many overwhelmingly detailed beautiful things
brooch, 1979, silver & enamel. Image: Andrew Mclaughlin
which inspire him. Likening the process to the creation of a delicious meal: “it is just good ingredients, put together well and presented.”
He feels “the whole backdrop of the industry has changed”. He has always been conscious of the power of branding –some 30 years ago he was presenting his collection with branded product cards incorporating the kite mark of the Design Centre of London, his biography and a profile picture. His first account was at a shop in Nottingham called Zhivago whose owner would use Paul’s packaging, in suede pouches, upon which his name was emblazoned, as an example of good marketing practice to aspiring designermakers. Furthermore, he acknowledges the challenges for designer-makers today, competing against heavily branded firms. “If someone has £1,000 to spend on their beloved, do they spend it on a brand that is absolutely recognised, is emblazoned everywhere or on Paul Spurgeon? 'Who the hell is he?' They might like them both – but which one will impress the most and which gift will also impress their friends and colleagues?" He realises that it is a very hard decision when one is standing in front of a very impressive shop that looks like Tiffany’s.
Maybe the tide is changing – some customers like the idea of commissioning an individual piece. He recalled giving tickets to visit Goldsmiths’ Fair to some ladies in the local pub, one of whom expressed an interest in the qualities of hand-finished jewellery; explaining how much they would enjoy the experience of visiting the Hall alone and that they would see “99 really talented guys and girls there”.
Paul believes that, as a designer-maker, one must “create something that is true to yourself; you must believe in it”. He realises this sounds incredibly pious but “otherwise you’ll be selling out at every juncture”.
Returning to his work in South Africa – Paul’s work with Cornerstone has become a major focus. He estimated that he had spent 80% of his time last year on developing and working on Cornerstone’s silver jewellery collection –fusing African and European styling. Working with silver has allowed him to be bigger, bolder – “a bit more extravagant”.
Some might think it is a retrogressive step for a fine jeweller. However, he was adamant that this material has relevance for this project and that silver does have “its own intrinsic value”. It also allows him to stick with white metals – which he finds “cleaner, sharper” and “more conducive to the design”. I noticed immediately, bright oranges and reds, sea greens, royal blues and lilac purples – nothing that I have seen in the muted tones of grey, white, rose gold and brown of Paul’s own established line of fine jewellery.
He says he has enjoyed applying what he has experienced and learned, producing platinum jewellery, to this silver range; the same attention to detail is also given to presentation and packaging. Working with Mikimoto in Japan, increased his understanding of the relevance of packaging and making a product accessible. He admires Mikimoto’s philosophy, whereby its store should contain at least one item of jewellery which is affordable to everyone; if this is not the case, then as a retailer it has failed. It is an inclusive attitude designed to avoid anyone feeling unwelcome as a customer in its store: an approach which includes the younger generation and fosters them through the various stages of their life. This approach sits well with Paul and may be the reason why he was drawn to the Cornerstone project.
Cornerstone, a project aimed at empowering disadvantaged and marginalised people through training and employment in the jewellery industry, was founded in 2009. Cornerstone now has stockists here in the UK and has shown at both The Jewellery Show in London and the Spring Fair in Birmingham. Paul and Nqobile are hoping to develop the model of this project to “a point where it is a watertight model that you would just adjust in accordance with the culture of the people you happen to be moving into”. Cornerstone comprises two business entities: one in the UK – Cornerstone Creations; and one in South Africa – Cornerstone Jewellery. The process is underway of registering the charity, Cornerstone School of Jewellery.
Funds donated to Cornerstone will be used for training and educational purposes, and a portion of the profits from the two businesses will feed into this charitable school.
The name “Cornerstone” does, as it sounds, come from the biblical reference of Psalm 118:22 of the Old Testament: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head stone of the corner” - in later editions the “cornerstone”. The allusion is that a stone regarded as unfit to be worked into any part of a building, might be in reality so important that it would be laid at the very corner and become one of the most valuable stones in the edifice – one on which the whole superstructure would rest. It is a fitting name for this project. Paul and Nqobile have big plans for the business to become co-operative, each member becoming a stakeholder. He cites reading the John Lewis Partnership’s constitution and it striking a chord.
I met Nqobile Nkosi last summer when Mike Van Buskirk, Sophie Breitmeyer and I welcomed him to our shared workshop in the Goldsmiths’ Centre. We provided a workspace for him for a week in London and, in the process, introduced him to services and suppliers in Clerkenwell and Hatton Garden. It was a delight to have him and a great opportunity to share our experiences of building businesses in this industry.
Whilst interviewing Paul for this article, it came up in conversation that I would shortly be travelling to India to undertake work on a training project in Jaipur for Afghans; the similarities with his work with Cornerstone and my work with Afghan jewellers and gem-cutters in Afghanistan and India were readily apparent. Paul took an interest in this particular project, run by Future Brilliance, and was put in touch with the Founder, Sophia Swire. Within a matter of weeks he was in Jaipur conducting wax carving classes with the group. He returned to Jaipur in March to lead development of the jewellery collection that is a part of the project. Another chapter in his life has begun!
No less than five royal heads look down on visitors to the Goldsmiths’ Company’s Livery Hall, but perhaps the most interesting story belongs to the least familiar figure, that of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. Queen Adelaide (1792-1849) was the consort of William IV. Their marriage was precipitated by the death in 1817 of Princess Charlotte and the urgent need for the unmarried sons of George III to produce legitimate heirs. There was a 27 year age gap between the Duke of Clarence and the young German princess, but, despite such inauspicious beginnings, their union was a happy one. Adelaide has been described by biographers as ‘personable rather than attractive’, but her good nature and domestic sensibility suited her frugal and eccentric husband.
Initially they sought a portrait of the King, and it seems that a full-length painting of ‘His Royal Person’ was to be presented. However, on 26 February 1836 Mr Bridge, a partner in Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, reported that ‘it was Her Majesty’s wish to present a portrait of herself to the Court’. The Wardens immediately wrote to Lord Howe, her chamberlain, ‘expressive of the high sense the Goldsmiths’ Company entertained of
the Queen asked Shee to produce another portrait for the Goldsmiths, who eventually received it in 1837.
The gentle face in the Goldsmiths’ Company’s portrait reflects a woman who accepted Clarence’s 10 illegitimate children, and who suffered many bereavements in trying to produce an heir herself. Her first two children died in their infancy, and Adelaide is known to have miscarried on two later occasions.
The portrait was in fact a gift from the Queen to the Company. In 1835 the new Hall opened, and the Court of Assistants was looking for art works to adorn its splendid interiors.
this gracious act… and of this proof of the interest she takes in the welfare of the Company’.
They had to wait a little longer than expected to hang the new portrait in the Hall. The painter commissioned by the King to undertake the job was Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850). Shee found depicting the Queen difficult ‘beyond anything I could have anticipated’, as she ‘particularly requests that the picture may not be flattered’. Despite these problems the King was so pleased with the result that he decided to keep it for himself, and
Adelaide’s goldsmith subjects might have been particularly interested in the jewellery worn for her sitting, although in keeping with William IV’s reign, her adornments are relatively modest. Much of Adelaide’s jewellery was made by remodelling pieces from the prodigious collection of her mother-in-law, Queen Charlotte. It seems likely that her necklace, stomacher, bow brooch and hat jewel derived from Charlotte’s collection. The bracelets Adelaide wears have more personal significance. They appear to feature enamelled cyphers (probably ‘WR’) set in a golden band. Similar bracelets were made for William IV by Rundell, Bridge & Rundell as official gifts, but Adelaide’s, incorporating a row of pearls, are more luxurious. The King gave her other bracelets to add to her modest personal collection of jewellery, including one in the form of a chain and padlock, inscribed ‘GRATITUDE’, marking her kindness during an illness.
It is fitting that for 150 years this amiable queen has reminded visitors to the Hall that sometimes the most precious jewellery is not the most expensive. □
Queen Adelaide 1837, oil on canvas by sir martin Archer shee, R.A.
Design for a bracelet with the cypher of William IV, 1830, made by the royal jewellers Rundell, bridge & Rundell
Talent Growing
by Mary La Trobe-Bateman
Glamorous,inspirational,prestigious – as well as daunting,exhausting,challenging: these are the words most frequently used to describe the Goldsmiths’ Fair by the exhibitors who have benefitted from a scheme for supporting and encouraging young graduates. And one word sums it up – vital!
In 2012 Goldsmiths’ Fair celebrated its 30 years of promoting the skills and artistic talents of the country’s most creative contemporary jewellers and silversmiths. In 2000 the Graduate Bursary Scheme was introduced to support a few selected young graduates as they started their careers. In the first year only one award was made – to Glenn Campbell whose neckpiece ReedTorc, in textured silver with two suspended 18ct gold reeds, was shown that year. The numbers gradually increased until 2007 when 10 were awarded, and 10 have been chosen every year since.
The exhibition GrowingTalent was a chance to show what has happened to these graduates, who responded to an invitation to show two pieces of work: ‘something old’, a piece of work from their first Fair, alongside ‘something new’, a piece made especially for this exhibition. For those who first exhibited in the early years, the contrast between their earlier work and the most recent was fascinating; the work was recognisable as by the same artist but their ideas and skills had progressed. With the younger exhibitors the contrast may have been less obvious but the development and experimentation
tempered by the reality of selling their work was already apparent. For Sarah Stafford, who was one of the first to be selected, successful sales through the Fair stimulated an expansion into precious materials and new ways of designing – where her signature geometric work was initially in silver, now using CAD techniques she includes delicate networks of gold set with glittering diamonds as in her SpirographBrooch
‘Goldsmiths’ Fair has probably been the backbone to my business since I first exhibited. I have met lots of makers and people connected to the trade over the years; some have helped me technically, some have given me business advice and some have become really good friends. I have a real sense of belonging to this wonderful Company after 12 years of exhibiting. In terms of customers, it attracts some of the very best. I would guess that probably 80% of my sales are in some way Goldsmiths’ related, and again over the years I have become friends with many of them. Making can be quite a solitary profession and the Fair has given me such a valuable platform to showcase my work and gain valuable insight into how people respond directly to my pieces and new ideas.’
The most striking aspect of the exhibition was the individuality of each exhibitor and their range of skills. Within the disciplines of both jewellery and silversmithing there was an intriguing variety of work from the apparent simplicity associated with Modernism to the richness and flamboyance reminiscent of Baroque splendour.
And GrowingTalentaimed to take you beyond the work, to tell the visitor a little about the development of this group of graduates and to reveal something of their interests and aspirations. I asked each exhibitor to respond to a number of questions: the first asked about the variety of education they had undertaken and how important certain individuals had been as part of their learning. It is a tribute to the UK’s specialist training schools – many of them employing the renowned artists named as ‘inspiring’ by the exhibitors in answer to the second question – that they have produced graduates and postgraduates of such high calibre. More than twenty institutions were named, frequently Birmingham School of Jewellery and Silversmithing, Edinburgh College of Art, Bishopsland Educational Trust and the Royal College of Art, yet there was no apparent ‘style’ associated with any of the places and imposed on their students. Instead each individual had been encouraged to develop work in their own ‘voice’.
For this they were chosen by the Goldsmiths’ Company for the Bursary which gave them a free stand in the prestigious annual Goldsmiths’ Fair, a grant of £1,500 and a bullion loan, and thus an opportunity to expand their experience, enhance their careers and introduce their work to a wider public. ‘It’s a great launch pad’ ‘I felt completely supported and encouraged to make a career in jewellery and silver’ were just two of the responses given in answer to how they have been helped. And each year this injection of new talent gives visitors to the Fair a fresh experience of contemporary jewellery and silver.
For Zoe Arnold, whose poetic work crosses the boundary between art and jewellery, the Fair ‘put me in touch with many of my most enduring clients, and is extremely important to so many makers, including myself, in a time when we need as many high quality venues as possible to show our work. I would not exist without it.’ Her earlier piece WaspPinmade in 2006 was kindly lent for the
exhibition by Sir Michael Gambon, and shown alongside her Birds’NestBrooch, an exquisite piece in oxidised silver that can be worn as a brooch or around the neck on an antique ribbon. This miniature piece hiding antique coral beads illustrates Arnold’s fascination with nests ‘they are at once delicate and protective, and yet an empty nest is also a symbol of something missing, of the past or the potent future.’
The most striking aspect of the exhibition was the individuality of each exhibitor
Louise Mary included the importance of the PR in her accolade ‘Goldsmiths’ Fair has been a great focus for my silversmithing in the past five years. From making pieces to ensure that I submit a high standard of photographs to apply to exhibit each year, to working towards the Fair, the Fair itself, then the follow up orders and enquiries afterwards – it now means that in every month of the year Goldsmiths’ Fair has become very much a significant part of what I am doing. The exposure and support offered is just fantastic. For example this year my work appeared alongside that of nine other silversmiths in the Evening Standard; this was all due to the PR work done to promote the Fair by the Promotions team’.
The third question was about other interests and influences, and reflects a new generation of jewellers and silversmiths. This was the chance to find out about wellread books, glean an eclectic variety of new and alternative music that today’s makers listen to, and discover their favourite films. The answers gave a glimpse of likes and loves outside the world of silver and jewellery; some work in silence whilst Stacey Bentley ‘likes to solder to the sound of Amy Winehouse, it relaxes me’.
Reed Torc neckpiece, 2000, 18ct gold, silver, by Glenn campbell. All images: Richard Valencia
Left: Spirograph brooch, 2012, 18ct white & yellow gold, coloured diamonds, by sarah stafford. Above: Birds’ Nest brooch, 2012, zinc, oxidised silver, 18ct gold, antique coral, ribbon, by Zoe Arnold.
If you have ever wondered what aspirations young craftspeople have for their work, the replies to the question ‘who would you most like to make a piece of silverware or jewellery for?’ may surprise. Many chose the Queen or the Duchess of Cambridge or ‘Royalty’, but Stephen Hawking and Aung San Suu Kyi were also named. Amongst the long, diverse list of celebrities whose personality would reflect their particular jewellery or silverware, were Gwyneth Paltrow, Marilyn Monroe, Lady Gaga, Lauren Laverne, Florence Welch and Stephen Fry. The chance to make work for a church or cathedral – functional work in the public eye – would also be greatly welcomed. Sue Lane suggested that her parents would be very proud if she made a piece of jewellery for a BBC news presenter to wear.
Lee Simmons, a new exhibitor in the most recent Fair, whose work has included a private commission for a tray holding water and wine cruets for a church ‘would like to make a piece of silverware for the City of London, for the people of the city.’ Exhibiting at Goldsmiths’ Fair will give him an excellent chance to make the necessary contact. In his words ‘The Fair gave me a great foundation to understand the context of how silversmithing can be presented to a wider audience of private collectors and the general public. Engaging in conversation about one’s work and gauging positive feedback gave me a great sense of fulfillment knowing what I had produced was appreciated and admired. My work has been taken to a wider audience and given greater exposure though the generous sponsorship of the Goldsmiths’ Company bursary stands. The Fair has stimulated new possible directions of where to take my work and how I could present it’.
Katey Felton showed a delightful, unusual silver purse: she would love to make one ‘for Kate Middleton who would inspire a wonderful addition to my new range of sterling silver clutch bags’. David McCaul expressed the romance of jewellery by choosing ‘to make a piece for Jessica Poole (my future wife)’ a fellow exhibitor. Melanie Eddy would like ‘Brad Pitt to wear one of my brooches on his lapel. I really enjoy it when men are bold enough to try my jewellery’. Eddy showed a pair of 18ct gold earrings set with rare lapis lazuli stones given as a gift when undertaking a residency in Afghanistan. She works closely with organisations that aim to rebuild the country after 30 years of conflict: through her work in the jewellery and gemstone sector in Afghanistan she is helping to set up a sustainable future.
When it comes to a piece to treasure for themselves, several of the exhibitors chose a piece of silver or jewellery by a fellow, often senior, metal artist; this was an impressive list including Rod Kelly, Malcolm Appleby, Michael Rowe and Susan Cross. Many would like a piece of silver by Hiroshi Suzuki or jewellery by Giovanni Corvaja. Whilst for Max Warren ‘what piece would you most like to own?’ brought the response ‘No question it would be the World Cup – but I would want to win it fair and square as England captain!’ Equally modestly, Ryan McClean would like ‘The Mask of Tutankhamen’ and for Milly Swire it is ‘The Crown Jewels’. The answers were sometimes amusing, intriguing and often illuminating.
Amongst the many expressions of gratitude and enthusiasm for showing at the Fair, Katey Felton wrote ‘As a student in 2000 it was my dream to exhibit at Goldsmiths’ Fair and in 2004 that dream became reality. The bursary and stand helped me to produce my first range of work and gave me the most amazing venue in which to launch it. It has enabled me to meet many clients, both from the UK and abroad and also fellow silversmiths and jewellers’.
Jonathan Boyd also expressed the importance of the camaraderie ‘You cannot place a worth on the opportunity to spend a week in the company of other makers – it is a very isolating job working on your own and getting to meet and know others in your field and make contacts is invaluable’. Boyd’s intriguing, oxidised silver bangle fabricated from type, leaves its text impressed on the wrist of the wearer.
David McCaul described how ‘The reception I got from the public at my first Goldsmiths’ Fair inspired me to set up my own business and open my own shop. Five years later the shop is busier than ever’.
And Jemma Daniels wrote what many feel: ‘Receiving a Bursary is one of many ways I have been supported by the Goldsmiths’ Company since beginning my training. I feel extremely grateful that as a trade we have a livery company that invests so much into the future of the craft.’ Echoed by Francis Levis who related ‘It has given me the confidence to show my work in a prestigious and historic setting’ and Barbara MacCleod’s statement ‘There’s no other show like it on earth’.
GrowingTalent was an exhibition celebrating 13 years of the Goldsmiths’ Company Graduate Bursary scheme. It is inspiring and exemplary that as an institution, this ancient livery company, with its rich history and tradition – as a senior City Company it received its first Royal Charter in 1327 – should show such a generous commitment to the contemporary generation of jewellers and silversmiths and wholeheartedly embrace and promote their new and sometimes radical ideas. By nurturing these young craftspeople at such an early stage in their careers, and giving them practical support and promotion, the Goldsmiths’ Company ensures the survival of traditional skills and the creative energy of a new generation. □
by Lee simmons. Right: cocktail shaker, 2012, silver, silicone rubber, by Frances Levis
Right: Calla drop earrings, 2012, silver, 18ct gold vermeil, diamonds, by essica poole below: earrings, 2012, 18ct gold, lapis lazuli by melanie eddy
Above: An Endless Rant on Craft bangle, 2012, oxidised silver, by onathan boyd below: Ripple clutch bag, 2012, silver, by katey Felton
Andrew Lamb
by Professor Dorothy Hogg
Andrew Lamb is one of Scotland’s most exciting creative talents. He is able to combine scientific metallurgical research with a rigorously thought-out approach to creating jewellery which maintains a sense of mystery and surprise.
It is his fascination with the optical, which imbues the pieces he makes with this mysterious quality and which makes me immediately want to try to work out how it has been achieved. I am often in the position of a student asking him “how on earth did you do that”?
He is currently working with hundreds of minute gold rings to create wavelike patterns based on textile surfaces. He based the idea of a very recent piece on the squared pattern of his kilt, working over many days to build up a wonderful
textured surface to make a brooch that changes when viewed from different directions.
During a talk about his work presented recently at the invitation of the Society of Jewellery Historians in London, he illustrated this process with a series of images taken of the kilt piece over many days of laser welding tiny gold loops in place. His process is demanding of absolute concentration – and there is no margin for error.
I have been privileged to be a close observer of the development of Andrew Lamb’s international career from the start. He entered Edinburgh College of Art in 1996 as a foundation student. From the many options available he chose a five-day block in my department of jewellery and silversmithing. I spotted his
ability immediately, as it was clear he had the rare and quite particular combination of exceptional making skills, creativity and an analytical mind. It surprised me to discover someone at such an early stage with such high expectations of achieving quality and the natural ability to do it.
Although his intention on coming to art college was to study graphic design, he decided to specialise in my department and undertook projects in both jewellery and silversmithing.
In the summer of 1998 I organised two master classes with the help of my part-time colleague, Susan Cross, and with funding from The Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh, the Scottish Arts Council and the Goldsmiths’ Company. I invited Giovanni Corvaja and Onno Boekhoudt to run a
master class on each floor of the department. Giovanni taught his very first class on granulation at Edinburgh College of Art with the assistance of Jacqueline Mina, with the participants being international professionals in the field. Andrew, as a selected student observer, was able to attend and to watch Giovanni making alloys and granules. I am not sure if this experience was at all influential but he had the chance to see an innovative fine goldsmith at work and, later in his career, he was able to study with Giovanni.
Andrew graduated in 2000 from Edinburgh College of Art with an exceptional degree show and a first class honours degree. He immediately won an array of prizes from Edinburgh College of Art and then, at the New Designers exhibition in London, he won the two major prizes available for the subject, the Goldsmiths’ Company Award and the Harley Foundation Award for Applied Art. In the same year he was also awarded a first prize in the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards. His success in competitions and awards has continued and he has a unique and well-deserved set of accolades including the Marzee
Graduate Prize on graduating from the Royal College of Art with an MA and the World Crafts Council Europe Award for contemporary crafts, the Dewar Art Award. More recently, he won the Arts Foundation Fellowship giving him freedom and funded materials with which to experiment during Giovanni’s course in Todi in Italy as well as a period of time to develop new work. He also had the benefit of being able to study at Bishopsland under the auspices of the generous and remarkable Makower family.
With many accolades and achievements in the intervening years he was delighted in 2012 to win two first prizes in the professional section of the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards. In that year the Goldsmiths’ Company acquired another piece of his work for their collection.
Andrew comes from a creative family. His mother is a textile artist and his father a jazz piano playing, woodworking, doctor and, further back, his grandfather was a hand surgeon, so his sense of creativity and precision has clear roots. His inspiration from early on at art college came from optical effects and illusion
in nature, and, as an illustration, he described to me watching a shoal of fish suddenly flip to show the dazzling underside of scales. As part of the course at Edinburgh he was required to select an aspect of jewellery and silversmithing as a second subject and he selected wire and explored ways of using wire to create volume. Whilst a student he had the opportunity to undertake a short placement with the silversmith Adrian Hope in his workshop, and when Andrew asked if he could use wire Adrian said he would have to make it from cutting an edge of sheet metal. This experience has been influential. When I asked him what it was about the craft that sustains his interest he replied it is the possibilities of manipulating precious metal in wire form, he plans to experiment more with gold and platinum. Experimenting with hugely expensive material takes a certain kind of courage and, of course, the investment of time and money. The various prizes and awards he has so deservedly won have helped him to experiment and move forward. He also has a perspicacious group of collectors who understand his exceptional ability and buy
Above: Changing Colour bracelet, 2004, 18ct yellow gold & silver. Right: Patchwork brooch, 2009, 18ct gold with twisted coloured 18ct gold wire. Both images: Keith Leighton
special pieces to develop their own collections and to simply enjoy wearing them.
He is skilled in CAD (Computer Aided Design) and is familiar with most rapid prototyping and manufacturing processes but his work is entirely hand-made. However, he would not rule out employing
Andrew teaches part-time at Glasgow School of Art with another Edinburgh graduate Anna Gordon; he is an excellent teacher who has high expectations tempered by great sensitivity.
While I was an Artist in Residence at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Andrew came to help me deliver a
participant in CreationII, the major exhibition of jewellers hosted by the Goldsmiths’ Company in 2009, where he exhibited beside people who had taught him – David Watkins, Susan Cross, Susan May and myself. Personally I think it was an honour for us to show our work alongside his!
Image: Sophia Tobin
Lenticular brooch, 2011, 18ct gold & silver using thousands of gold and silver wire loops. Image: Graham Clark
Once again the past year has been characterised by change and opportunity. Against a continuing background of financial constraint a great deal has been achieved – but inevitably there is still more to do.
With Lord Sutherland at the helm as Prime Warden for the year, the process of Court reform has continued. In the summer of 2012, the Court decided that, in future, Assistants would assume a retired status at the end of the financial year (31 March) in which they reached the age of 80; retired Assistants would retain all of their social privileges but would no longer play a direct role in the Company’s affairs. Sadly the highly respected Sandy Stirling (Prime Warden 1993/94) passed away on 17 September 2012 and his obituary appears elsewhere
in this Review. Finally, in October 2012, Sir John Rose made the difficult decision to resign from the Court and to revert to the Livery.On a further sad note, the Company’s Property Solicitor, Sophie Hamilton (Liveryman), died in October 2012; a remarkable woman, she had done much for the Company and her untimely death was a great shock. There was change also for the wider membership and, for the first time, Freemen were invited to apply to join the Livery; this resulted in the selection of twelve non-Trade and eight Trade Liverymen. This new procedure ensured that the selection committees were armed with up-todate and pertinent information whilst also giving the applicants the opportunity to explain what it is that they might contribute to the Company’s affairs. There was
general satisfaction with the way that the new process had worked, and, with due regard to lessons learned, it will be used again for the next call to the Livery expected in 2015.
Under difficult circumstances, the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office has had a remarkably successful year
There was also general satisfaction with the outcome of the first appeal to the membership to contribute to the new charitable fund. A sum of approximately £55,000 was raised as a result of the first year of the appeal, and it is hoped to build on this success in future rounds. With the Company’s endowments, both charitable and corporate, being a direct result of the largesse and the generosity of earlier generations of goldsmiths, it is very appropriate for the current membership to contribute to the Company’s work in a similar fashion.
Under difficult circumstances, the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office has had a remarkably successful year. With a significantly improved financial performance and a market share as high as it has been for decades, the Deputy Warden and his team are to be congratulated on their efforts to provide a service which is second to none whilst also diversifying their outputs to meet other opportunities. It was with much pride that the Assay Office hallmarked all of the gold and silver medals awarded during the course of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Goldsmiths’ Centre completed its first year of operation on 6 February 2013. A great deal was accomplished over this period, with the effort changing from constructing the facility to delivering this new charity’s objects. This change in emphasis has been reflected in a refreshed Board of Trustees which now better represents the skill sets required to provide oversight of the Centre; this includes guiding the Institute’s activities and also developing the catering facilities, and exhibition/conference spaces to capitalise on the opportunities both for income generation and for support of the trade. Dr Devlin stood down in the New
Year from his role as the Director of the postgraduate programme, and the arrangements for the second course, in terms of its aims and administration, are now being considered; meanwhile, the first one-year foundation apprenticeship course started in October 2012 and has been cited, by City & Guilds, as being an exemplary training course. In future, it is anticipated that this latter module will be incorporated as the first year of the Company’s own traditional apprenticeship scheme. The Trustees and the Centre Director have been greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm with which the Centre has been welcomed by the trade and also by the many offers of assistance which have been received.
The main exhibition of the year, Gold:Power&Allure curated by Dr Helen Clifford, was delivered in the summer to much acclaim with just under 25,000 visitors to the Hall over the eight weeks concerned. A further exhibition in the series of StudioSilverToday events was staged at the National Trust’s Ickworth House in Suffolk, featuring the artist silversmith Miriam Hanid.
Two selling fairs were held over the past 12 months. The Goldsmiths’ Fair, which has now achieved its 30th birthday, was held over the last week of September and the first week of October; this renowned event achieved higher sales and footfall than in the previous year and demonstrated that, even in a recession, there is a market amongst discerning customers for quality articles of silverware and jewellery. For the first time, a selling fair was staged at Somerset House in July 2012; called the Goldsmiths’ Company Pavilion, it is intended to develop further this concept with a similar event, also to be staged at the same venue, towards the end of June 2013.
All of the above activity, and much more, does not of course organise itself, and I remain most grateful for the efforts of the staff at the Hall, in the Assay Office and at the Centre for their initiative, enthusiasm and hard work.
I am also greatly encouraged by the amount of time and effort put in by so many of the Company’s membership who assist with the running of the Company’s affairs and who are unstinting in their support of the Company’s aims.
Dick Melly
the clerk in discussion with momoko kumai. Image: Julia Skupny
Activity
The number of articles sent for hallmarking to all UK assay offices fell from 10.86 million in 2011 to 9.37 million in 2012, a drop of 13.8%.
Gold dropped by 6.9% and silver by 20.1%. Platinum grew by 1% and palladium by 17.5%; palladium figures are now about one half of those of platinum – excellent growth since its introduction a few years ago. London did better than the UK offices as a whole with the number of articles hallmarked falling slightly from 2.44 million in 2011 to 2.41 million in 2012, a drop of 1.5%. Market share thus increased, reaching 30% in some months.
The total number of items hallmarked by all UK assay offices is now less than one third of the 35 million articles marked in 2004. This unprecedented and seemingly relentless downturn reflects the hugely difficult environment in which the assay offices are still operating. Interestingly at London, while articles have fallen by a third, the number of packets has not changed. In 2004, 72,472 packets containing 6.24 million articles were completed while in 2012, the 2.41 million articles were contained in 72,901 packets, 429 packets more.
The two sub-offices remained busy. The Heathrow sub-office hallmarked just over one million articles and Greville Street slightly in excess of 137,000 articles.
It is now five years since Heathrow opened, and a contract has recently been signed with Brinks to operate there for a further period. The financial impact of the downturn in article throughput was again tempered with the generation of additional income from assaying and smelting services required by companies who buy scrap gold. Income was also helped by the success of the commemorative hallmark to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This mark was available from July 2011 until 1 October 2012 and 31,592 articles were punch marked and 11,037 articles were laser marked.
Despite the downturn, investment in technology continued in 2012 with the purchase of new XRF spectrometers, a microwave digester for improved assaying accuracy and the replacement of the fume cupboards in the laboratory. The investment the previous year in the punch making laser in the Engineering Workshop has already proved its worth; all punches are now made in-house and the annual punch order was completed in October, well before the deadline date of the end of the year. The Assay Office retained its accreditation to international standards ISO 17025:2005 and its certification to ISO 9001:2008.
A key objective during the year was to keep customers informed of the Assay Office’s activities and the latest hallmarking information. Greater use was made of social media networking and presences on the Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn portals were established. To coincide with this activity, the website was improved, making the wealth of information more easily accessible.
The Hallmarking Information Seminars saw record numbers in attendance, and several Fakes & Forgeries seminars and Valuation Days were organised. Due to the surge in buying and selling scrap gold, a new training course, ‘Buying Precious Metals and How to Avoid the Pitfalls,’ was introduced. Several trade events were attended, the highlight being Art in Action held at Waterperry House in a rain-soaked field in the Oxfordshire countryside. Wellington boots were derigueur
A great honour this year was being chosen by the Royal Mint to hallmark the medals for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. John Love, the Superintendent Assayer, took on the task himself to carry out the hallmarking of approximately 3,300 of them. This is the first time the Olympic medals have been hallmarked.
Antique Plate Committee
A total of 73 pieces were examined, of which 18 conformed to the Hallmarking Act. The remainder comprised 26 with alterations and additions, 13 with transposed marks, and 16 with counterfeit marks.
Suspected Offences
A total of 11 suspected offences against the Hallmarking Act were reported to the Office by Local Authority Trading Standards Officers, which resulted in one prosecution.
Standards Committees
Progress has been slow on the revision of the many ISO standards relating to the testing of precious metal jewellery. Technical Committee TC 174 which deals with this aspect did not meet last year.
International Convention on Hallmarks and International Association of Assay Offices
Italy’s attempts to accede to the Hallmarking Convention were thwarted in 2012 as some of the member states would not ratify Italy’s accession, despite a positive technical report and recommendation by the Convention Inspection Team.
The International Association of Assay Offices (IAAO) is going from strength to strength and Montenegro, Mongolia and Russia signed the Memorandum of Understanding in 2012.
Changes to the Hallmarking Act
The Legislative Reform Order (LRO) to amend the Hallmarking Act to permit off-shore hallmarking by UK Assay Offices was passed by the Government in February 2013. As part of the Order, assay offices must not use their current town mark in any off-shore facility. London has chosen a portcullis design.
Staff
Sir Jerry Wiggin retired as Chairman of the Assay Office Management Committee. Sir Jerry was responsible for sponsoring the current Hallmarking Act and pushing it through Parliament. An equally remarkable achievement is serving a total of over 20 years on the Assay Office Management Committee, initially as a member and
latterly as Chairman. He will be replaced as Chairman by Grant Macdonald.
Sheila Priest, Helen Haher and Maggie Leach received their freedom by special grant while Danny Love received his freedom by service following the completion of his apprenticeship. The Deputy Warden recalled the recruitment of Sheila, Helen and Maggie when he was Superintendent Assayer. They had all recently left the same ink cartridge filling company in East London which was relocating to another part of the UK; this was a very good day for laser markers but not such a good day for laser printers!
Dr Robert Organ
the superintendent Assayer making a presentation to sir jerry Wiggin. Image: Julia Skupny
the Wardens and the Deputy Warden with (right to left) sheila, helen and maggie on 21 november 2012. Image: Sophia Tobin
With Lord Sutherland, the long-time Chairman, on other duties this year as Prime Warden, Mr Michael Galsworthy has stepped up to take his place.
The budget for 2012-13 was set at £300,000, and this has proved adequate for the delivery of the Education Committee’s planned core programmes.
Central to the work of the Committee has been the Company’s support of London inner city primary schools. A seventh school, Netley in Camden, has been taken on during this period. It was not prospering and had gone through much turmoil but is now in the hands of a dynamic Executive Head who is showing what can be done with strong leadership. In addition to the normal grant of £7,500 given to each Head to promote literacy and numeracy, the Committee was able to award additional grants of £2,000 to bolster the initiatives which are already being pursued. In 2013, the Hall will be playing host to Year 6 (final year) children from all of the schools by way of an educational experience; this may well be an experience for more than just them!
The National Theatre’s ‘Primary Classics’ is a project which not only has merit in its own right but allows the Company’s primary schools to tap in to the great work being done to bring classical literature and theatre to young children. It also stimulates and trains the teachers themselves. The last production was HanselandGretel and RomeoandJuliet is being staged in 2013. In the same vein, the Building Exploratory, which brings learning workshops to primary schools, covering the built environment from bridge construction and materials to model making and the history and geography of the local area, is being supported. It is closely linked to the national curriculum, and the Company’s primary schools are being encouraged to become involved. £5,000 is being given to both of these projects.
The Company’s collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society provides five £1,000 bursaries annually to teachers to enable them to create teaching materials through linking directly with RGS sponsored expeditions. This is now a well-established initiative and the ‘From the Field’ programme is proving its worth in the eyes of the RGS.
Five Science for Society courses were delivered in 2012 and a similar number will be provided in 2013. This year, by way of experiment, they are being delayed by a week in the hope of attracting more state secondary school teachers. After its highly successful inaugural delivery, the Geography course, run by the Ordnance Survey, will again be in action, working with Southampton University and the Meteorological Office.
Another 10 awards, of up to £5,000 each, were made to teachers to pursue personal and professional development goals. This year the topics ranged from two different approaches to teaching children with autism; the development of apps to improve literacy and numeracy; and the exploration of the uses of digital technology in maths which is already being pioneered in California.
Nick Harland
The Charity Committee sees more evidence of austerity in the economy than any other part of the Company.
This year’s budget was set at £700,000 and the demand on its funds was as strong as ever. This climate is expected to persist for some time. The appeal success rate of 59.5% was slightly up on the last year, but this was only achieved by being more frugal in the size of the awards made.
Only one Community Foundation, Cheshire, was selected for support this year, and it received a two-year package. This is the most recently established Foundation, still in its formative stages, so the Committee was delighted to be able to provide seed funding, a model which has been pursued with considerable success in the past. £50,000 was awarded for the first year so that it could hire a grants manager, with the excess being used for local charities and community groups in need. It is planned for Committee members to visit Cheshire in the summer to see at first hand some examples of the organisations being supported. This is the only form of non-national and non-London grant-making which the Committee supports.
The Committee does not give grants to individuals, save for needy freemen. Exceptions to this criterion, however, are the £25,000 grants given to the Glasspool Charity Trust and School-Home Support (SHS) under the ‘Poor Londoners’ programme. In the first of these charities, the individuals concerned are those in dire need of the most basic items such as a bed, curtains or carpets, whilst SHS provides funds to enable the poorest families to send their children to school ready to learn. Based on the average grant size awarded by these organisations, it is estimated that the Company’s funds will reach around 330 people in London this year.
The Company continued the annual block grants to Together for Short Lives (children’s hospices) of £10,000 and the National Churches Trust of £40,000. The Stepney Episcopal Area Fund was also awarded £10,000 to distribute to churches in need in Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Islington.
The Charity Committee runs a reactive grants programme for the remainder of the funds, divided into four categories: General Welfare, Medical Welfare and Disabled, Youth and Culture. As government funding is reduced, those charities working with the homeless, prison charities, the elderly and disadvantaged children and young people were given special consideration. Medical Welfare and Disabled charities also continued to receive strong support. On average the Committee makes 19 minor grants each month with 188 having been awarded over the last year.
The Wardens also made charitable donations, which otherwise fell outside the Committee’s areas of interest. These included: grants to charities deemed particularly worthy to cover the cost of Hall hire; £4,000 to the Company’s affiliated church, St Vedast-alias-Foster; £3,000 towards the running costs of the Finchley Sea Cadets; and various initiatives in support aspects of the trade such as the Bishopsland Educational Trust. They also continued their association with 7 Rifles providing £3,000 for the affiliated company ('A' Company) and a larger sum for the support of the families of soldiers from the Regiment deploying to Afghanistan.
Nick Harland
the national theatre’s production of Hansel and Gretel, part of the primary classics’ project. Image: Stephen Cummiskey
children handling a chicken at the Deen city Farm
Promotion & Marketing Craft & Industry
In June the largest exhibition in my time as Director was staged. Gold: Power and Allure comprised a staggering 500+ golden objects which arrived from 170 lenders from around the world.
The exhibition ‘build’ transformed the Hall into a number of themed areas – the most well-received being the darkened ‘barrow’ room holding the earliest pieces of British gold, dating back some 4,500 years. Gold:PowerandAllure raised the profile of the Company both nationally and internationally.
The Lord Mayor of London opened the exhibition, and the Company also commissioned a Golden Fanfare by Francisco Coll which was premiered at a celebratory concert for the City of London Festival.
Just under 25,000 people visited the exhibition which was described by the DailyTelegraphas a ‘must-see’.
To coincide with the exhibition, a number of talks on gold and its relationship with Britain were given by experts as part of the ‘Days of Knowledge’ series and a one-day symposium. The subjects ranged from ancient gold to contemporary jewellery. These were very well-attended and excellent feedback was received.
A special debt is owed to Dr Helen Clifford, curator of the exhibition, for creating a show of such intrigue and scale as well as to George Harris for his hard work as Curatorial Assistant. Furthermore, the exhibition would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship from the World Gold Council.
In June, the Company staged the Goldsmiths’ Company Pavilion at Somerset House. Receipts were more than double the previous year. Indeed, such was its success that the Company has been invited back in 2013. This year the event will run from 26 – 29 June and will include a third more exhibitors.
In the autumn, Goldsmiths’ Fair celebrated its 30th year. In a difficult financial environment the footfall increased and was just shy of 10,000; sales rose by 5% over the previous year’s figure. These statistics represent a major achievement for both the exhibitors and the Fair team.
The exhibition was described by the DailyTelegraph as a ‘must-see’
To further this cause, the Spring exhibition, Growing Talent, celebrated the wealth of talent that the Company has nurtured through the Fair since 2001. The most promising graduates were awarded a bursary to enable them to exhibit, and the curator, Mary La Trobe-Bateman, did a wonderful job – choosing an item of jewellery or silver from their first Fair to be shown alongside something made especially for this exhibition to illustrate the development of each craftsman who has been supported in this way.
The Department also had changes of staff. Paul Waller and Tom Bowtell moved to pastures new. Their hard work, creativity and endless enthusiasm will be missed. Stuart Newton, the new Exhibition Designer and Co-ordinator, has worked at major London museums including the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Richard Webb, the new Editor of the website Who’sWhoinGoldandSilver , has many years of experience in web publishing and development.
Paul Dyson
In sitting down to write this report it is strange to think that since the previous one so much has changed with regards to the management of this aspect of the Company’s support for the craft and industry.
A new Committee under the chairmanship of Grant Macdonald has been formed and much of the day-to-day management of the work has been transferred to the Goldsmiths’ Centre team.
As a brief reminder to the reader, this new Craft & Industry Committee was established to oversee the work of old Technology & Training Department, which was disbanded after the Goldsmiths’ Centre opened in February 2012. The Committee’s brief remains largely unchanged with a focus upon education, training, research and technical support.
In 2012, it oversaw a programme that included many established initiatives taking place. GettingStarted, the annual business course for graduates setting out on a career within the craft and industry, was held in January. Thirty delegates enjoyed a week of talks, workshops and keynote speakers including an especially entertaining and useful talk by Theo Fennell.
In March our apprentices did particularly well at the annual Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council competition, taking a number of coveted awards. It is gratifying to see just how good these young people are at making things. It is also noticeable just how much they develop personally over the course of their time on the scheme. This is undoubtedly down to the discipline imposed by undertaking the City & Guilds Senior Award, something which has also gone from strength to strength this year with five awards being made in the autumn.
The production of a bumper TechnicalJournal in May 2012 celebrated, amongst other things, the opening of the
Goldsmiths’ Centre by HRH Princess Alexandra. Plans are afoot for the redevelopment of this publication with both an online and printed version planned in the future.
In June the Committee supported the New Designers exhibition at the Business Design Centre in Islington. This annual show attracts graduates and visitors from across the UK and the Committee was delighted to be able to make two awards and also showcase recipients of the Company’s Precious Metal Bursary Scheme and the Curator’s Department’s Silver Bullion Grants at the event.
The Precious Metal Bursary Scheme offered by the Committee was revised in 2012 to reflect better the increasing cost of bullion with seven bursaries of up to £1,000 each on offer. The aim of the scheme is to encourage undergraduates entering their final year of study to make pieces in precious metal – something that they often find difficult to achieve on a cost basis alone. It will be interesting to see the impact of these higher funding levels on their work when it is produced and shown at New Designers in 2013.
This busy year for the Committee led to a reassessment of the Company’s support for the craft and industry and, as a result, in October 2012, a thorough review of its programmes was agreed. The impact of this is likely to be far ranging with a greater emphasis being placed upon the work of the Goldsmiths’ Centre and the educational facilities which it now offers. Apprenticeships, training and support for young people will remain at the core of the Committee’s purpose but how this is delivered may change in the future. Despite potential changes on the horizon for now it falls to me to thank all those who give their time and energy to this important and ongoing aspect of the Company’s work.
Peter Taylor
the ‘barrow room’ at Gold: Power and Allure Image: Imagewise
Ivonna poplanska in the Goldsmiths’ centre’s postgraduate suite. Image: Daniel Jones
Curator’s
The art medal form of hand held sculpture appeals to sculptors; its scale concentrating imagery to mesmeric effect.
An example, commissioned for the Company’s Collection, is the Afghanistanmedal by James Butler. Its background is the response to the conflict in Afghanistan and the sacrifice of British soldiers. The obverse of the medal has a soldier being shattered by the force of an explosion. The reverse has a stark image of the coffin draped with the Union Jack being carried by four bearers, treated in the style of an ancient Persian wall painting. James Butler is the most senior Royal Academician alive today, and was chosen to do the Portrait Medal to commemorate Rupert Hambro’s year as Prime Warden.
The 50th anniversary of the Thai Burma Railway built by prisoners of war was commemorated in art medal form by Ronald Searle (1920–2011) who had personal experience of that terrible event. More known for his St Trinian's drawings, Searle’s medal Kwai1942–1982 shows anonymous bodies as railway sleepers interpreted in the spirit of the medieval Dance of Death imagery. It is a gift to the Company from Tom Fattorini, Liveryman.
The Second World War was a harrowing experience too for the sculptor Maurice Blik, who, as a small child, was taken to Bergen-Belsen. When liberated, he came to live in England. Chosen to undertake the Company’s Immigrationmedal, its subject matter resonated with Maurice. The obverse shows two enigmatic figures emerging from the medal to face a new future. The sense of uncertainty and loss is shown on the reverse by the absence of these figures who leave two unoccupied spaces.
Lucian Freud, who lived for his art, died in 2011. Jane McAdam Freud, Freeman, one of Lucian Freud’s 14 children, had to share her father with the art world and his extended family. Poignantly, she became close to him in the last two weeks of his life in 2011 by sketching him as he lay dying. Some weeks later she showed me her drawings which were preparatory for a larger portrait sculpture ‘to keep him alive’. I asked Jane if she would make a medal from one of the sketches for the Collection. The image on this medal is universal. It is Lucian Freud, but behind the face is more. It is Jane’s father, whom she loved and had just lost.
Four items of jewellery were added to the Collection over the last 12 months. Catherine Martin’s DoubleShellsis a tourdeforce. Taking her characteristic braided structure of fine gold and platinum in a new direction, she flattened the shapes over carved wood to
produce a surface quality where the wires retain their braided appearance but shimmer. Another jewellery commission was the DoubleStrandBoanecklace from Anna Wales. A development of her forging technique, the necklace fades from oxidised silver through to 18ct gold and back again.
Following his retrospective exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Company purchased from David Watkins his 18ct gold brooch, LeafDiffraction(2007).
Displaying a different direction from his work held in the Collection, this brooch integrates Computer Aided Design and rapid prototyping model-making to produce a model which was then cast by the lost wax process.
From Andrew Lamb, the Company purchased his 18ct red flame-oxidised gold and silver Lenticular brooch (2012). The interlaced image was created from over 2,000 bimetal wire pixels. The pattern changes when viewed from different angles and is formed by positioning the wires one by one and laser welding them into place. This incredible brooch was lent by the Company to the World Crafts Council in Belgium which featured the work of 86 selected applied artists from 19 countries.
The Modern Collection Committee was so impressed by the presentation and innovative work of Hazel Thorn, an MA student at Edinburgh School of Art, that it promptly purchased her copper and silver vessel. Demonstrating intensive research, it took the MokumeGanetechnique to a new level. Hazel is inspired by the weathered objects that she finds in the remote wilderness of the Scottish Highlands where she grew up. The Scottish landscape also inspires the artist silversmith Michael Lloyd. His two beakers, purchased by the Company, are chased with Scottish thistle decoration, each treated differently to give a visual texture similar to a tapestry.
Snowdonia-based silversmith Rauni Higson responded to the Company’s commission with her dramatic Persephonevase, inspired by plants in spring thriving on craggy outcrops of rock. This vase is the centre piece in the showcase of Rauni’s work for the Company’s current StudioSilverTodayexhibition at Erddig, the National Trust property in North Wales.
Next year’s artist in residence for the StudioSilverToday series, to be staged at Belton, will be Angela Cork. The Company purchased her Facetvase from her display at Goldsmiths’ Fair. Angela is inspired by architecture and Japanese formal gardens, using traditional box making techniques in an innovative way. Another purchase from Goldsmiths’ Fair was the ThreePanelVesselsby Mary Ann Simmons. The title related to the construction – from curved and shaped panels of silver assembled deliberately to offer varying perspectives.
The final purchase from the Fair was the magnificent vase by William Lee. His style of hammering reflects his passion for moving metal to evoke the movement of water and express nature’s energy. William, Young Designer Silversmith Award winner in 2003, now has seven pieces in the Company’s Collection. Indeed this competition can be a launch-pad for a young person’s career. Since winning last year, Kate Earlam has received a further commission for a similar dish, has gained a job in Clive Burr’s workshop, and has given a talk at British Silver Week on the history and her experience of the competition.
Rosemary Ransome Wallis
Left: Lucian Freud medal, 2012, silver, by jane mcAdam Freud. centre: necklace, 2012, 18ct yellow gold & platinum, by catherine martin. Right: Persephone vase, 2012, britannia silver, by Rauni higson. All images: Clarissa Bruce. below: Vase, 2012, fine silver, by William Lee. Image: Julia Skupny
Library Report
New acquisitions are continuing to expand the Library’s breadth of knowledge.
A sample of this year’s purchases, including important works on royal jewels by René Brus and Sir Hugh Roberts, Elizabeth Bone’s useful SilversmithingforJewellery Makers, and GoldJewelleryoftheIndonesianArchipelago by Richter and Carpenter, give an indication of the diversity of new material.
Authors have once again generously donated works containing valuable recent research, and the Library is grateful: to Tim Schroder for his RenaissanceandBaroque silver,mountedporcelainandrubyglassfromtheZilkha Collection; to Ursula Ilse-Neuman for Spacelightstructure ThejewelryofMargaretdePatta; and to Rüdiger Joppien for MicromosaicAntarcticlandscapes, to name but a few. Gains have also been made with archival material, and the Library was delighted to receive a selection of drawings by Edward Spencer (1873–1938). He was the director of the Artificers' Guild and was responsible for many of its designs of silver and jewellery. The Company already holds a large collection of the Guild’s drawings, and this gift by Jane Raven will help future researchers to discover more about his work.
The archives themselves continue to be cared for by conservator Liane Owen, who has been repairing court minutes and estate plans and maps. Even early documents are regularly consulted to answer enquiries, and Liane has ensured that conserved items are not only visually improved but better able to withstand handling.
The Company’s ability to share information about its archives via the web was given a boost with the launch of ROLLCO (Records of London’s Livery Companies Online) in June 2012. This database provides information about freemen and apprentices, and stems from a partnership between the Centre for Metropolitan History and the Clothworkers’, Drapers’, Mercers’ and Goldsmiths’ Companies. The Goldsmiths’ Company’s data is based on research by Dr David Mitchell, and spans the 17th century. It is hoped that more information about 18th and 19th century goldsmiths can be added over time. Now the database is operational other livery companies are expressing an interest in adding their records to this valuable free resource. Another initiative to widen access to the archives has involved the photography of 20th century
design drawings. These high quality images can be shared with individual researchers and educational groups.
During the year the Library has once again been working closely with the Assay Office on a programme of visits for colleges and universities, designed to encourage the use of our respective services. In June the Company hosted a very successful study day on diamonds and diamond jewellery, held in association with the Society of Jewellery Historians. This was organised by the Librarian and Library Administrator as part of the Promotions Department’s ‘Days of Knowledge’ series.
Library staff have also been busy this year. Eleni Bide’s maternity leave, which ended in late January, was ably covered by Melanie Eddy, with assistance from Deborah Roberts. Melanie has moved straight to another project, coordinating training for Afghan jewellers in Jaipur. Sophia Tobin, the Library Administrator, has brought a tale of murder and intrigue to the reading room: her novel, TheSilversmith’sWife, will be published by Simon & Schuster in January 2014. The Library is hoping for a complimentary copy!
Eleni Bide
Antique
Plate
Mr R.N. Fox (Chairman)
Mr R.F.H. Vanderpump
Mr R.P.T. Came
Mr N.V. Bassant
Mr A.J. Butcher
Mr P. Cameron
Mr D.E. Cawte
Mr A.J. Dickenson
Mrs K. Jones
Mrs L.M. Morton
Mr A.M. Phillips
Mr H. Willis
Assay Office Management
Mr G.G. Macdonald (Chairman)
Mr R.D. Agutter
Mr R.G.H. Crofts
Mr C.V.S. Hoare Nairne
Mr R.E. Southall
Mr A.C. Vanderpump
Mr M.R. Winwood
Charity
Mr D.A.E.R. Peake (Chairman)
Mr S.A. Shepherd
The Hon. Mark Bridges
Dr C.G. Mackworth-Young
Mr W.K. Benbow
Mr R.G. Ford
Dr J. W. Hanbury-Tenison
Miss E.K. Himsworth
Mr J.B.A. Holt
The Hon. Dr Elisabeth Martin
Mr R. O’Hora
Mr J.R. Polk
Mr W.G. Touche
Collection and Library
Professor R.L. Himsworth (Chairman)
Mr R.F.H. Vanderpump
Mr H.J. Miller
Mr T.B. Schroder
Dr K. Jensen
Mr R.W.G. Threlfall
Mr C.H. Truman
Mr A.E. Turner
Craft and Industry
Mr G.G. Macdonald (Chairman)
Mr S.A. Shepherd
Mr R.N. Fox
Mr A.J. Bedford
Mr T.R.B. Fattorini
Mr B.D. Hill
Ms D. Mitchell
Miss J.B. Springer
Education
Mr A.M.J. Galsworthy (Chairman)
Dame Lynne Brindley
Mr W.K. Benbow
Mr J.D. Buchanan-Dunlop
Miss C.V. Copeland
Miss H.S.E. Courtauld
Mr C.D.J. Holborow
Professor Dame Julia King
Dr V.V. Lawrence
Mr A.C. Peake
Mr R.A. Reddaway
The Hon. Mrs Meg Sanders
Mr R.G. Straker
The Lady Willoughby de Broke
Goldsmiths’ Review Board
The Lord Sutherland of Houndwood
Mr R.D. Agutter
Mr R.G. Melly
Mr N.J.G. Harland
Mr D.A. Beasley (Editor)
Miss E.R. Bide (Assistant Editor)
House
Mr H.J. Miller (Chairman)
Mr R.P.T. Came
Mr M.D. Drury
Mrs N. Buchanan-Dunlop
The Hon. Joanna Gardner
Mr G.C.D. Harris
Investment
Mr R.N. Hambro (Chairman)
Mr W.H.M. Parente
Mr U.D. Barnett
Mr N.A.P. Carson
Mr A.P.A. Drysdale
Mr W. Hill
Sir Stuart Lipton
Mr R.R. Madeley
Sir John Rose
Membership
Mr T.B. Schroder (Chairman)
Mr M.D. Drury
Mr E.C. Braham
Ms J.L. Clarke
Mr W.T. Edgerley
Mr T.R.B. Fattorini
The Hon. Dido Harding
Miss V.E.G. Harper
Mr G.A. Himsworth
Mr M.S.A. Magnay
Dame Rosalind Savill
Miss J.B. Springer
Mr S. Webster
Modern
Professor R.L. Himsworth (Chairman)
Mr M.D. Drury
Miss V.R. Broackes
Mr C.E. Burr
Mrs J.A. Game
Miss O.D. Krinos
Ms D. Solowiej Wedderburn
Promotion
Mr T.B. Schroder (Chairman)
Mr M.J. Wainwright
Mrs J.J. Clark
Ms J.L. Clarke
Mr A.A.H. Fraser
Mr C. Marsden-Smedley
Mr C. Mellor
Mr N. Semmens
Ms M.A. Simmons
Miss A. Stapleton
Design for a warden’s badge for the Goldsmiths’ company, 1959, by Alex styles. Image: Richard Valencia
Membership
Members of the Court of Assistants
The Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, KT, FBA, FRSE PrimeWardenuntil16May2013
Mr R.D. Agutter PrimeWardenfrom16May2013
Mr W.H.M. Parente
Mr T.B. Schroder, FSA
Mr M.J. Wainwright Wardenfrom16May2013
Sir Anthony Touche, Bt
Mr C.R.C. Aston, TD
Sir Hugo Huntington-Whiteley, Bt, DL
Mr S.A. Shepherd
The Lord Tombs of Brailes
Sir Paul Girolami
The Lord Cunliffe
Mr R.F.H. Vanderpump
Mr B.L. Schroder
Mr R.P.T. Came
HRH The Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB (HonoraryAssistant)
Mr D.A.E.R. Peake
Mr B.E. Toye
Mr M. Dru Drury, CBE, FSA
Sir Jerry Wiggin, TD
Professor R.L. Himsworth
Mr G.G. Macdonald
Mr R.N. Hambro
Mr A.M.J. Galsworthy, CVO, CBE, DL
Mr H.J. Miller
Dame Lynne Brindley, DBE
Mr R.N. Fox
The Hon Mark Bridges
Brigadier Edward Butler, DSO, MBE
Mr E.C. Braham
Dr C.G. Mackworth-Young, MD, FRCP
*Retired status as of 31 March 2013
The Livery
The following deaths of Liverymen were reported during the year (preceded by the year of clothing).
2005 Miss S.C. Hamilton
1978 The Hon Christopher Lennox-Boyd
1983 The Lord Sandys
1990 Mr B. Ward
The following Freemen were elected to the Livery and duly clothed during the year.
The following have been enrolled as an Associate of the Goldsmiths’ Company honoriscausa:
Mr John Pearson Andrew
Mr Nigel Brian Israel
Binney Medal Winners
The Binney Award Winners for 2012 were Mr Benjamin Hudson and Mr Colin Thomas.
Membership Report
A survey was conducted in 2012 of members’ thoughts on engagement with the Company. It was apparent that there was an appetite to have more opportunities for them to learn about the Company in a sociable atmosphere as well as to participate in interesting visits. In the light of these findings, a pilot programme of activities and briefings has been planned for 2013 and circulated to the membership.
The Members’ Charitable Fund has continued to attract encouraging backing from the membership. Designed to promote the engagement of members in charitable giving to causes which the Company as a whole is not able to support, this year four charities are being helped: London Youth’s Activenture (pairing disabled children with their fit peers in an adventure setting); the Prisoners’ Education Trust (providing education to prisoners to equip them on their release); the Manna Society (offering basic life support to the needy in Southwark); and DEMAND (employing young engineering graduates to create bespoke solutions for disabled people).
Nick Harland
A.m. stIRLInG
1927-2012
Alexander (Sandy) Stirling was a man of grace and charm who served the Goldsmiths’ Company with distinction for nearly 30 years. Like many men of his time and background, he had an instinctive regard for institutions, but there was a radical streak in his make-up and this, combined with experience of working in an old industry struggling to survive in a shrinking market, gave him an authoritative voice as a member of the Assay Office Management Committee and made him a memorably energetic and forward-looking Prime Warden.
After Eton and two and half years in the Coldstream Guards, Sandy went up to New College, Oxford, in 1948, where he read Modern History. In 1950 he joined the Orient Line as a trainee manager. These were the sunset years of the great shipping lines and also, paradoxically, a time of rapid evolution in the design and construction of passenger liners, a subject in which Sandy took a particular interest. He rose quickly in the business and when the Orient Line merged with the P&O in 1960, he was appointed General Passenger Manager with responsibility for forward-planning and the transition from large liners to smaller cruise ships. Sandy always spoke with affection of his years with the Orient Line and with a young man’s reverence of its charismatic chairman, Sir Colin Anderson.
In 1975, in response to the Fulton Report, he was one of 23 successful businessmen in mid-career chosen for secondment to the Civil Service. After two frustrating years in the Department of the Environment as Assistant Secretary in the New Towns Directorate, he was invited to join the marine insurance-broking firm, Thomas R. Miller & Son, to take charge of a new business, the ThroughTransport Mutual Insurance Association Ltd.
This was an international mutual insurance company for the shipping industry and in Sandy’s time as Managing Director and, later, Chairman, it grew quickly and came to insure 60% of the world’s containers. He retired in 1992 and, in January 1993, began, unusually, a 17 month term as Prime Warden, retiring from office in May 1994. He had already been a member of the Assay Office Management Committee since 1984. His time as chairman
from 1989 coincided with a sudden drop in demand after years of gradual decline. Under his decisive and hardheaded leadership, the Committee took a strategic view and decided on a change of focus from market-share to profitability. This required a drastic reduction in overheads which included making many members of staff redundant. For an organisation with a high proportion of long-serving employees it was a painful exercise, but it had the intended effect and the Assay Office returned to profitability.
On becoming Prime Warden Sandy initiated a far-reaching review of the Company’s objectives. Its aim, as he himself said, was "to ensure that our activities are relevant to the time we live in and that they are being effectively carried out". The changes that resulted are too many to list, but that the Corporate Review was adopted and its recommendations implemented was a tribute to Sandy’s vision, firmness of purpose and the respect in which he was held by his colleagues on the staff and Court. It set a course for the Company which it has maintained for more than 20 years.
To the end of his life Sandy retained the mind and outlook of a young man. He had high principles and firm views which, as a natural listener, he never imposed on others. He took a generous interest in the careers of young people, many of whom owe their presence on the Livery or Court today to his encouragement and championship; and no one was more pleased than he when the male monopoly of the Court was finally broken in 2006.
It would be impossible to write about Sandy without mentioning Mary. Theirs was a transcendently happy marriage whose 60th anniversary they celebrated with their family and friends at a memorable party at Goldsmiths’ Hall just over a year ago.
M.D.D.
May 2012–2013
Studio Silver Today at Ickworth
The exhibition, from 10 March – 3 November 2012, at Ickworth, attracted 90,000 visitors, an increase of 20,000 on the previous year for the property. The prize draw for the beaker, designed by silversmith in residence Miriam Hanid was won by Mr Pease, who was one of 6,600 entrants to the prize draw.
Gold: Power and Allure
Curated by Dr Helen Clifford, this exhibition displayed over 500 golden objects from antiquity to the present day. Running from 1 June – 28 July 2012, it received international acclaim and just under 25,000 visitors.
New Designers 2012
At New Designers (27–30 June) the silversmithing award was won by Noeleen Logue (National College of Art and Design, Dublin) for her It’swhat’sinsidethatcounts bowl.
The jewellery prize was taken by Mairi Johnstone (DJCAD: University of Dundee) for her Cometoyoursenses jewellery.
Goldsmiths’ Fair 2012
The Fair ran for two weeks between 24 September and 7 October and attracted 9,942 visitors. Exhibitor turnover increased by 5% to just under £3.7 million.
Young Designer Silversmith Award 2012
Kate Earlam’s Leaf dish was presented by the Prime Warden to the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, for its collection on 1 November 2012.
Getting Started 2013
The programme ran between 21–25 January at the Goldsmiths’ Centre and was attended by 30 delegates. An evening reception was held on 24 January.
Trial of the Pyx 2013
Summoned by the Queen’s Remembrancer, Master Steven Whitaker, 17 jurors attended the Trial of the Pyx on 5 February. Of the 56,532 coins, 9,682 were counted by hand, including the London 2012 Gold kilo coin, designed by Sir Anthony Caro. The Royal Mint was not found wanting when the Verdict was delivered at the Hall in front of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 May.
Young Designer Silversmith Award 2013
Judging took place on 12 February 2013, when Kyosun Jung of the University for the Creative Arts at Rochester was chosen as the winner. She will make up her piece, which will be presented to the Victoria and Albert Museum, in the workshop of Clive Burr.
Royal Visit
Princess Michael of Kent, patron of the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council, visited the Hall on 4 March 2013 to attend its exhibition of competition winners and to present a Lifetime Achievement award to silversmith Christopher Lawrence.
Growing Talent
This exhibition, celebrating 80 jewellers and silversmiths nurtured by the Goldsmiths’ Company, ran from 11 March – 13 April 2013. Each participant showed a piece from their first Goldsmiths’ Fair alongside a recent work, demonstrating the development of their skills and designs. It was curated by Mary La Trobe-Bateman.
Studio Silver Today at Erddig
The National Trust’s Erddig House, near Wrexham, is the host for this year’s event which opened on 9 March. The artist-in-residence is Snowdonia-based silversmith Rauni Higson and the exhibition continues until 2 November 2013.
Statistics for the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office January – December 2012
