Mastery of Design: The Phoebe Traquair Necklace, 1905

Necklace
Phoebe Traquair
1905
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Scottish artist Phoebe Traquair was known in the early Twentieth Century for her embroidery, murals and illuminated manuscripts as well as her masterfully painted enamels.

Traquair distinguished her own work between what she called “epic” (large-scale) work such as tapestries and wall painting, and “lyric” (small-scale) work. In 1901, she began her apprenticeship in enameling to Lady Gibson Carmichael at Castlecraig and she discovered that enameling would quickly surpass book illustration as her favorite small-scale medium.

She created vivid foiled enamel scenes--typically of mythical or spiritual subjects—which were strongly influenced by medieval and Renaissance examples which had then recently been discovered. Traquair’s jewelry, triptychs, caskets and mounted cups and covers were all based on historical pieces and artifacts.

Here, with this necklace from 1905, she has set enameled plaques in gold.  They are connected by gold chains.  The plaques depict a mermaid and ships. The central plaque is signed, and dated 1905 on the reverse.  It was made in Edinburgh.