Description
RESERVED for A only – thank you *********************************************************
A wonderfully rare find, firmly attributed to the sought-after English Arts and Crafts designer, Ernestine Mills c1900. Ernestine Mills was born in Kent in England in 1871. She was not only a talented artist but she applied herself to enamelling some wonderful pieces-this being one of them. She was also a supporter of the Suffrage movement and enamelled a number of “Votes for Women” pieces in the early years of the 1900s.
This is a beautiful piece of Arts and Crafts enamel work, which details a peacock with the vibrant peacock colours of blues and greens throughout. A typical motif not only of the c1900 era, but also of Ernestine’s, this is an eye-popping example and almost certainly a unique example of her work. The bird stands with its tail feathers raised and picked out in vibrant green enamel, with its feet splayed as on other Ernestine Mill’s pieces. If you move the brooch around, you see the gold lines above the rest of the enamelling, which seem to pick out and highlight certain features of the bird. There are gold dots and then little lines in gold running up to the “eyes” on the peacock’s feathers.
The hand wrought silver foliate section is so cleverly considered, for when you look at the flow of the lines of leaves and berries, they flow upwards adding to the feel of the peacock feathers moving upwards. Such a powerful and important piece of design. In pleasing condition for such an old piece of enamel work, light wear and one partial hairline crack visible under the loupe (going horizontally across the peacock’s chest) although this does not go completely from one end of the enamel to the other. It may actually be a result of the firing of the enamel initially and you don’t see anything unless scrutinising under a loupe. There may be a tiny grouping of berries missing from the left silver panel but, I am just guessing with that. The Arts and Crafts work of the era was not about symmetry so, rarely, did 2 sides match each other exactly.
She is a scarce and important piece by a highly-collected designer and craftsperson.
It measures approx 3.3cm by 3.1cm. I shall send carefully packaged in a new gift box by complimentary special delivery within the UK or else by complimentary courier internationally. Thank you. (Box in the images is not included)
