Silver, gold, opals & peridots

H  8.70cm (3.43 in)  |  W  4.20cm (1.65 in)

The peacock was one of Ashbee's favourite and most distinctive motifs. They are archetypal of the best and most innovative of the Guild of Handicrafts work.
Ashbee designed peacock jewels in varying styles and materials, two of them on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London from about 1900 are made of silver or silver gilt mainly set with blister pearls. This Ashbee peacock pendant is extremely rare because of the unusual colour combination of the opals, enamel and peridot

Literature
Illustrated in our book:
Beatriz Chadour-Sampson & Sonya Newell-Smith, Tadema Gallery London Jewellery from the 1860s to 1960s, Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart 2021, cat. no 49
Documented 'Further designs from C.R. Ashbee's album of drawings number 1463 (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea)
Pre-Raphaelite to Arts & Crafts Jewellery, 1989, Gere & Munn, p.186.
Illustrated: Strut: The Peacock and Beauty in Art, Hudson River Museum, New York, page 64.
Helen Ritchie Designers & Jewellery 1850-1940, Jewellery and Metalwork from the Fitzwilliam Museum, 2018, pp. 71-85 biography

Ref No   6807

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