Tea kettle and stand, silver and ivory, London hallmarks for 1906-7, mark of the Guild of Handicraft, designed by C.R. Ashbee.

Tea-kettle and stand, 1906. Silver with ivory handle, the finial set with a semi-precious stone. The body of the kettle, a truncated cone with a frieze of embossed floral ornament around the base, a plain spout, domed lid with an embossed floral frieze encircling the centre and a knop, a mounted cabochon supported on a wire frame. The handle, a circular loop with a curved ivory insulator at the apex. The stand, a plain circular moulding supported on four, equidistantly place ball feet, four vertical supports hold the circular plate on which the kettle rests, beneath a burner with a circular reservoir supported in the centre by a wire frame. The surfaces are left with a hammered finish.

Lent by the Keatley Trust

Charles Robert Ashbee established the Guild of Handicraft in 1888. Influenced by Ruskin and Morris, he intended the Guild to be a co-operative venture which would encourage the full creative potential of the craftsman. At the turn of the century, the Guild was at the height of its success and had evolved a distinctive and mature style. Softly planished surfaces decorated with chasing and embossing were characteristic of Ashbee's designs and had a significant effect on contemporary silver in Europe and America as well as Britain. Financially however, the Guild was less successful and in 1908, Ashbee was forced to wind up its affairs.

LOAN:KEATLEY.1:2