A Short History of Jewellery Designer Henry George Murphy
Henry George Murphy was born in Birchington-on-Sea in Kent in 1884 and even as a small boy he showed an interest in jewellery. In 1899 the jewellery designer Henry Wilson offered him an apprenticeship and Murphy worked for Wilson until 1912, when he set up his own workshop. He initally worked in silver but soon moved on to gold and expensive gems. In 1922 he designed a gold, topaz and sapphire tiara for Mary, Princes Royal for her engagement, and in 1924 he designed a miniature version of the crown jewels for Queen Mary’s dolls’ house at Windsor Castle.
Murphy designed mainly pendants, brooches, rings and buckles in styles from Arts and Crafts to Art Deco. The pieces were exquisite and stood out from the cheap, repetitive jewellery of the day, which consisted mainly of cheap diamond chipped rings and brooches.
In 1928 Henry George Murphy founded the Falcon studio and took up making silverware such as church plate, trophies and domestic items covering a range from tankards to egg cups. His circular modernist coffee set won a gold medal at the Milan International Exhibition in 1933. Murphy’s first passion though was jewellery and he produced some stunning earrings and necklaces in the Art Deco style. He also produced a sizeable range of inexpensive silver brooches, his zodiac and animal designs being particularly popular. Continue reading »
Filed under Jewellery and Watches | Tags: Art Deco, art deco style, Arts and Crafts, Central School of Art, falcon studio, Henry George Murphy, HGM, miniature crown jewels, Queen Mary, Queen Mary's Dolls House, zodiac pendants | Comment (0)An Introduction into Brannam Pottery
He began to steer the pottery towards the burgeoning market for the kind of ware commonly known as Art Pottery. Making the wares under the trade name of Barum (the Roman name for Barnstaple) the pottery later became known as Royal Barum Ware when it received Queen Victoria’s seal of approval with her purchase of four jardinieres. Barum ware was sold exclusively for a while in the 1880s by the firm of Howell and James in London.
The colour scheme that was really popular with the public at the time consisted of lighter to darker coffee colour in combination with a delicate blue/green, which had been devised by Brannam. This is also extremely popular with modern collectors. Later colour combinations up to around the 1890s became increasingly vivid when oranges, reds and stronger coloured glazes as well as green became popular. Continue reading »
Filed under China and Pottery | Tags: Art Deco, Art Noveau, Art Pottery, Arts and Crafts, Barum, Brannam, Brannam Pottery, Charles Brannam, Devonshire Ware, Frances Carruthers Gould, Liberty, Queen Victoria, Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee, sgraffito vase, Torquay Pottery, Victorian | Comment (1)