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| Pendant of gold, pearls, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds Henry Wilson, c. 1900 The Victoria & Albert Museum |
The jewelry of Henry Wilson (1864-1934) was very popular in late Victorian England. Advertisements for the firm graced the pages of the most fashionable publications. Yesterday, for example, I showed you an ad from an 1895 edition of "The Sketch" which I was given for Easter.
Henry Wilson's jewelry is known for its rich color combinations which are worked in stones and enamel, as well as and the sculptural qualities of his jewels.
A curious commonality of many other Arts and Crafts designers, including C.R. Ashbee and Wilson Is the fact that they trained originally as architects. Given this, their pieces all have an innate architectural quality.
Wilson first became interested in precious metals in the early 1890s, and went on to teach at the Royal College of Art where he published a practical manual of silverwork and jewelry in 1903.
In the preface to the manual, Wilson encouraged the reader to "feed his imagination on old work." the jeweler himself had a deep attraction to historical themes. This can be seen in the form of this piece, which draws on the shapes found in Renaissance pendants.
This pendant of gold openwork, pearls, blister pearls, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, moonstone, turquoise, has, at the back, hidden by the pearls, a pendant relief of the Virgin and Child with the legend "MATER CHRISTI." This portion was probably embossed by Felice Signorelli.
The piece was made in Wilson's studio around 1900.
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