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Silversmith: Marks, Gilbert Leigh
Silver; eight-sided wavy rim embossed with lizards and foliage
Britannia silver, cast in rounded octagonal shape with wide wavy rim, repousse and chased with eight lizards among bramble foliage on a thorny stem on a spot-hammereed ground.
History note: Commissioned by the family of Miss Ellen Bicknell
Given by Miss Ellen Bicknell
Weight: 1785 g
Method of acquisition: Given (1980-12-01) by Bicknell, Ellen, Miss
19th Century, Late#
Victoria I
1898
CE
-
1899
CE
Born in 1861 in Croydon, south London (where he remained until his premature death from syphilis), Marks appears to have developed his silversmithing skills in his spare time. In 1896, although still working as ‘something in the City’, he had two assistants, who helped him produce his metalwork and by 1901 was working full-time as a silversmith. His work, in silver and pewter, hammered with tools from both the front and the back to create raised decoration, was praised for its handmade qualities. Most of his pieces were in a naturalistic style, incorporating plants or animals. His obituary in The Burlington Magazine referred to his insistence ‘that the smith must be at once the designer, the artist, and craftsman. Marks would have no dies, no machinery, no repetitions.’ His early death resulted in his significant contributions to the Arts and Crafts movement being overlooked.
Across Rim
Diameter 42.4 cm
To Rim
Height 5.8 cm
Decoration
Lizards And Foliage
Lizards
Raising : The dish was cast and the lizards and foliage embossed and chased. The lizards have a small piece of silver seamed under the jaw and neck, which allows the head to stand proud of the dish. The background to the dish is spot hammered.
Inscription present: Britannia
Inscription present: lion's head erased
Accession number: M.18-1980
Primary reference Number: 119262
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
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IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Dish" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/119262 Accessed: 2024-04-23 16:34:57
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/119262
|title=Dish
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-23 16:34:57|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-119262
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<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa37/large_M_18_1980_3_201711_amt49_dc2.jpg"
alt="Dish"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Dish</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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