1977-79 Jocelyn Burton Sterling Silver Gilt Bowl Set of Six with Cast Marine Elements
$3,500.00
Jocelyn Burton (1946-2020) was a highly respected and groundbreaking female English silver and goldsmith. Burton's work has been commissioned for important spaces throughout the world, notably 10 Downing Street. She won many accolades and was the first artisan to record the platinum stamp in the English assay system in 1973 as well as many other accolades. Perhaps most of all, hearkening back to Hester Bateman and a handful of others, she too paved the way for a new generation of female English silversmiths who today stand upon her shoulders, in spite of being discriminated against for her sex. Clearly, she had moxie and grit, and according to one firsthand account, she had an unforgettable personality.
The 1979 sterling silver gilt bowls offered here were made early in her career, in fact, just a few years after her induction as a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 1974. These, alongside many other pieces, were purchased by early patron and sales agent, Philip Refson beginning in the late 1970's. Refson owned a jewelry shop in London (Charles de Temple) and sold Burton's work, but also commissioned many of her pieces for his own home.
These heavy parcel gilt sterling silver bowls feature various gastropods including terrestrial and marine snails and even an overturned cowry. The shells appear to have been washed up on tidal rocks or crawling, antennae extended. In some examples, these shells are flanked by withdrawn anemones perhaps. Not just for the decorations are these bowls unique, but they also have a very unusual construction of the foot. The foot of the bowls is hollow, but extraordinary in that it is folded to make it very broad and sturdy. This feature is one I've never seen before and is highly innovative, especially considering the curvilinear step of the foot.
These bowls have been used, probably by Refson and have some light dings as well as loss to the gilding. A couple examples are slightly out of true and could be trued up.
Price is firm. Spoons sold separately.
Dimensions: 1.6" x 4".
Weight: 1,050 grams on the set
The 1979 sterling silver gilt bowls offered here were made early in her career, in fact, just a few years after her induction as a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 1974. These, alongside many other pieces, were purchased by early patron and sales agent, Philip Refson beginning in the late 1970's. Refson owned a jewelry shop in London (Charles de Temple) and sold Burton's work, but also commissioned many of her pieces for his own home.
These heavy parcel gilt sterling silver bowls feature various gastropods including terrestrial and marine snails and even an overturned cowry. The shells appear to have been washed up on tidal rocks or crawling, antennae extended. In some examples, these shells are flanked by withdrawn anemones perhaps. Not just for the decorations are these bowls unique, but they also have a very unusual construction of the foot. The foot of the bowls is hollow, but extraordinary in that it is folded to make it very broad and sturdy. This feature is one I've never seen before and is highly innovative, especially considering the curvilinear step of the foot.
These bowls have been used, probably by Refson and have some light dings as well as loss to the gilding. A couple examples are slightly out of true and could be trued up.
Price is firm. Spoons sold separately.
Dimensions: 1.6" x 4".
Weight: 1,050 grams on the set