Home Online References Main Index
|
|
"Specimens of Craftsman Jewelry" -- In 1906, Good Housekeeping magazine ran an early article by Claire M. Colbourne on Arts & Crafts jewelry making, which she referred to as "Craftsman" jewelry. Part of her article was a somewhat over-the-top appreciation of jewelry in general:
"The first savage maiden who wore some crude metal ornament instinctively sought out what she felt was peculiarly suited to her charms. The warm human association of a necklace worn by some famous belle never seems to die out and leave it cold and lifeless. Let the fancy whimsically dwell upon the role which jewels have played in romance and even history. Who will ever forget Carlyle's vivid description of the almost priceless diamond necklace ordered by Louis XV for Madam Dubarry, an extravagance which undoubtedly hastened the French Revolution."
She then raised an issue central to the Arts & Crafts canon:
"…modern jewelry has been sadly influenced by the "cold and arid regularity of the machine" and the spirit of commercialism. The money value of a cluster of diamonds in a ring or brooch signifies more to the average woman than the design of her ornament, its quality of workmanship, its relation to her hair and complexion and the garments with which she will wear it."
In response, according the author, "[p]eople who add to good breeding some artistic feeling, are welcoming handmade jewelry … made by workers skilled in the technique of the craft, keenly alive to the imaginative possibilities of jewelry and its place among the artistic crafts." She highlighted a group of lovely jewelry, all fashioned by members of the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts, including Elizabeth E. Copeland, Ednah S. Cirvan, Margaret Rogers, May Mott-Smith Cunningham, Arthur S. Williams, Jane Carson, Florence S. Richmond and Japanese jeweler Toyozo Kobayashi.
|
|
Silver buckle by Jane Carson (see also silver Carson pin at top of page)
The Arts & Crafts movement was important not only because it broke old rules, established important new ones, and created pieces that were both simple and beautiful, but because it let ordinary people afford lovely objects:
"… women of fashion will probably possess more jewelry than any other class for some time to come. Still much of this craftsman jewelry is within the means of the person of moderate purse and many of the workers … are enthusiastic artists whose jewelry is fundamentally simple yet fresh and original in design."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
