One of the leading figures in the Arts & Crafts movement, Margaret Rogers was born and educated in Boston. Among her teachers was Albert Munsell, inventor of the Munsell color system, an early attempt to classify color by value and hue. The pendant below is an interesting composition of different colors designed to work together.
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Margaret Rogers was one of a small handful of SOACB medalists for metalwork
Rogers used heavy gauge silver, and her sterling pieces often feel weighty. Her gold work, on the other hand, while solid, tends to be extremely delicate.
Rogers 18K gold bracelet with onyx and pearls. While much of Rogers' work
used bright colors, this very elegant understated piece relied simply (and very
successfully) on black and white only. For a closeup, click here.
She produced both jewelry and decorative objects such as the small, heavy silver bowls below, often with saw-pierced rims and enameled interiors. She also produced delicate items like this small fork, with green, yellow, and white enamel:
In a 1915 survey of Arts & Crafts jewelers in the American Magazine of Art, writer Emily E. Graves highlights the work of several Boston makers including Rogers:
Curiously enough, it is in once Puritan Boston that there is now the largest number of artist jewelers. Of these the names of Frank Gardner Hale, Margaret Rogers and Josephine Hartwell Shaw are easily foremost. All three are master craftsmen in the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts, and have received the bronze medal conferred by the Society as its highest honor for excellence in the crafts…. Miss Rogers learned her craft in America. In her settings there is very frequently noticeable a delightful color combination in different stones. Her work has a great charm and delicacy, a feminine quality that adds a certain grace, while it does not weaken the structure of the design.
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To see a 1915 American Magazine of Art article on Arts & Crafts jewelry with this Rogers pendant, click here. |
In 1915 Rogers was awarded the Society of Arts and Crafts Boston's Medal of Excellence. (For a list of all 63 SOACB medalists, click here.) Rogers never married, and devoted herself to her work, where she displayed meticulous skill and craftsmanship, focusing on jewelry and smaller pieces. She served for several years as dean of the Jewelers' Guild.
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Rogers Gold mark: |
Rogers silver mark: |
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Item |
Description |
Size |
Marks |
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Bracelet, handwrought 18K gold, with alternating links, bezel-set oval black onyx with smaller links comprised of gold fleur-de-lis with bezel-set pearls connected by tiny gold chain links. Beautifully made, nice color combination. |
7-1/4” L |
MR (conjoined mark on plaque) and 18K |
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Pendant and chain in 18K yellow gold, oval, with bezel-set round cabochon stones -- two blue, three purple, two dark green, two clear, and one large red oval at center. With gold flowers and leaves and small bead ornamentation, original delicate gold paper clip chain composed of there small links alternately attached to one large link |
Pendant: 1-5/8" H and 7/8" W on chain 16-1/2" L |
MR conjoined in box |
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Pin, gold, oval, small, with applied trefoil leaves and berries at each end and purple cabochon bezel-set black opal in the center. Heavy for its size. |
1-3/8" L and 9/16" H |
[MR conjoined in box mark] |
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Dish, enameled, with flat bottom, flat broad rim with a repeating saw-pierced stylized floral design. Bowl is enameled in a bright shade of emerald green with a tiny bit of wear in one spot. Very heavy for its size. |
4-3/8" W and 11/16" H |
STERLING / MR (conjoined mark) |
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Dish, enameled, with flat bottom, tapering sides, and flat broad rim. Bowl is enameled in a bright shade of canary yellow, with an engraved "E-N-S" on the rim. Very heavy for its size. |
4-3/16" W and 1/2" H |
STERLING / MR (conjoined mark) |
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Detail from small enameled fork, with two slender pointed tines that curve outward at the ends, tapered handle with wide round end that has chased flower, stem, and leaves with green, yellow, and white enamel. |
4-1/16" L and 11/16" W at end |
STERLING / MR (conjoined mark) |
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Pillbox, silver, small, with hinged lid, rounded corners, and applied trefoil blossom with central silver bead on lid. Tightly fitting top. Heavy for its size. |
1-1/16" W and 1-1/16" L and 9/16" H |
HANDWROUGHT / [MR conjoined in box mark] / STERLING
[Note -- This piece may actually have been made by Maria Regnier, whose mark and work is often confused with that of Margaret Rogers.] |
