DESCRIPTION |
Substantial silver Arts and Crafts gravy boat and matching silver sauce boat. The gravy boat is one, of very few, that is actually large enough to suit the requirements of modern diners. The pair together remind me strongly of those pot-bellied pigs (sow and piglet perhaps) that were fashionable pets for some during the 1980s. If you like pigs, then this could be a positive attribute. It is seldom that I can describe a gravy or sauce boat as loveable, but it seems apt for this pair. | ||
| SILVERSMITH |
Albert Edward
Jones Ltd.
A.E. Jones (1879-1954) studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, Birmingham, under Edward Taylor and later worked as a Guildsman at the Birmingham Guild of Handicrafts, where he was influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1902 he left his father's workshop at Hurst Street and started on his own in Windmill Street: he then acquired the firm of Jesson and Birkett. A. Edward Jones's workshop attracted a group of artists including Edward Taylor, head of the Birmingham School of Art, his son Hawson Taylor, the creator of Ruskin pottery, Arthur Shorthouse, a future president of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, A.J. Gaskin, the architect, A.S. Dixon, R. Catterson-Smith, Bernard Cuzner and many others. At this time every piece of silver was done by hand in the traditional manner and his silver mounts were used with Ruskin pottery. He handled commissions for the Bromsgrove Guild and most of this work can now be seen in cathedrals and churches throughout the country and in the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. During the 1920s he designed and made civic plate, church and domestic silver. Courtesy: Kenneth Crisp Jones, Albert's son. | ||
| DATE or HALLMARK |
1920/21 | ||
| ASSAY OFFICE or COUNTRY |
Birmingham | ||
WEIGHT in GRAMS |
317 | ||
| SIZE in INCHES |
length: 7 1/2 (gravy), 6 3/8 (sauce) |
width: 4 (gravy), 3 3/8 (sauce) |
height: 3 1/2 (gravy), 2 5/8 (sauce) |
| SILVER STANDARD |
.925 sterling silver | ||
| OVERALL CONDITION |
excellent, no repairs, monograms or erasures. There is an unusual indentation to the thumb-piece of the sauce boat (last images). If this was caused by a knock or blow then the force of it would have all but flattened the item. The cross-section of the indentation is too wide for it to have been caused by a blade and the deepest part is not cut but rounded and with the surface texture left from casting. This mark must be an original casting flaw. The manufacturing silversmith did not see this as a fault, otherwise he would have made another handle, so nor should we. | ||
| MAJOR FAULTS |
none | ||
MINOR FAULTS |
please see above. | ||
|
Price £215 |
SOLD |
Item Number: M1832 |
