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Brooch
George Coker - Enlarge image
Brooch
- Place of origin:
Derby, England (made)
- Date:
ca. 1816-1840 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
George Coker (possibly, maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Biscuit porcelain plaque set in a plain gold slip
- Museum number:
M.16-1973
- Gallery location:
Jewellery, room 91, case 18, shelf B, box 8
The porcelain plaque may have been made by George Coker who was an apprentice at the Nottingham Road factory in Derby but left in 1817. He set up a business making porcelain figures in Friar Gate, Derby and worked firstly in partnership and then on his own account until he moved to London in 1840. His wife was Sarah Stanley hence the initials SS and Coker used "Derby" as part of his own mark on his figures.
Floral jewellery made a touching gift of love or friendship. It could also convey symbolic messages. In The Language of Flowers, first published by Mrs Burke in 1856, the lily of the valley signified a return of happiness, while the convolvulus could have a number of meanings – from the bonds of love to repose or even extinguished hope.
