My Family Silver

a silver jewel box, William Snelling Hawaday, London, about 1905
(The Art Journal, London, July 1905, p. 217)

Among the most accomplished of ‘gifted amateur’ working silversmiths who entered their marks in London in the late Victorian and Edwardian period was Gilbert Marks (1861-1905). His work, much admired during his short working life, is now eagerly sought by collectors interested in the Arts & Crafts Movement.

He was not alone, however; many others from  backgrounds far outside the trade were keen silversmiths, such as Alice, Countess Amherst (1854-1933), whose efforts in making small, spot-hammered plates are a great rarity. Another, more accomplished silver worker was Major Robert R. Woodhouse (1833-1912), father-in-law of the 3rd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, who entered his first marks in 1890 and his last in 1906. He is known for a silver bell push and a two-handled tazza in ancient Greek style, which are likely to have been made as gifts for friends and family, as well as miniature pieces which eventually found their way into Queen Mary’s dolls’ house.

Another noted amateur silversmith was William Snelling Hadaway (1872-1941), an American citizen who lived in London from about 1897 until 1908, when he became superintendent of the Madras Government School of Arts in India. He is chiefly remembered for a number of silver objects with dolphins and other marine motifs, including a remarkable toilet set which, says The Art Journal (1905) was ‘designed for a special purpose.’ Both he and his wife, Jean, were enamellists, which accounts for the coloured plaques which sometimes enrich his work.

detail of an embossed, pierced and chased silver dressing table mirror frame,
from a toilet set decorated with blue and green enamel and inset with
chrysophrase and turquoise, William Snelling Hadaway, London, 1904
(photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s, London)

• A number of interesting enamelled items are listed on myfamilysilver.com.

a silver dish with a chased chrysanthemum design by Gilbert Marks
(The Studio, London, September, 1895, p.220)

Forty years ago the ‘big three’ among English silversmiths were still considered to be the two Pauls (de Lamerie and Storr) and Hester Bateman. They were also the first to have books written about them, probably because so much from their workshops had survived: de Lamerie in 1935, Storr in 1954 and Bateman in 1959. Of more recent silversmiths almost nothing was heard, except, perhaps, for Omar Ramsden whose work was celebrated by a centenary exhibition in Birmingham in 1973.

Since then, however, determined efforts have been made by many researchers to broaden our view of the British silver industry. The result has been to add further fascinating details to what was already known about de Lamerie, Bateman, Storr and Ramsden and their respective worlds, as well as to pull from relative obscurity the work of dozens more excellent firms and gifted individuals.

Gilbert Leigh Marks (1861-1905) is one independent silversmith, who in a career of only about ten years, managed to produce a body of finely made objects of lasting beauty. Early admirers warmed to his style; The Art Journal (1897), for instance, noticed the finish of his bowls, vases and beakers: ‘the dull yet exquisite grey of unpolished silver.’ The Studio (1895), agreed, adding that his pieces were ‘not over-ornamented, pleasant plain spaces being left which served to accentuate the beauty of the designs.’

Marks’s patterns were from nature: chased flowers, leaves and fruit against softly patinated surfaces, with occasional observations of fish leaping through water.

a silver bowl, chased with a design of salmon leaping through water, signed ‘Gilbert Marks 1898,’ an inscription on the interior records that it was given as a Cowes Regatta prize that year by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales; it realised £51,600, including premium, when sold at Bonhams, London, in July 2008
(photo: courtesy of Bonhams, London)

• Various items of interest are currently listed on myfamilysilver.com, including a Newcastle Guild of Handicrafts silver jardinière in the Arts & Crafts style, hallmarked, Birmingham, 1906.