Ring thumbnail 1
Ring thumbnail 2
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images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Ring

About 1920 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This ring was was made by the firm of Bernard Instone (1891-1987), one of the leading members of the second generation of Arts and Crafts metalworkers.

Born in Birmingham, Instone won a scholarship to the Central School of Art at the age of twelve and learned practical silversmithing and jewellery at the Vittoria Street School, Birmingham. He executed jewellery, metal and shagreen work for John Paul Cooper at Westerham during 1911-12. He was invited to work with Emil Lettré in Berlin, and returned in 1913 to Birmingham where he assisted in the teaching at the Vittoria Street School, before his career was interrupted by war service. He founded the Langstone silver works in 1920. He was a fertile designer and a vigorous champion of his own firm and the contemporary trade. He was President of the Birmingham Jewellers Association in 1937 and active in the preparation of the British Art in Industry Exhibition at Burlington House in 1935. He is said to have employed over forty people at the peak of his commercial success, and to have sold his work to Liberty's and Sibyl Dunlop.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver with enamel and opal
Brief description
Enamelled silver ring set with an opal. Designed and made by Bernard Instone, Birmingham, England, about 1920.
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.4cm
  • Width: 1.9cm
  • Depth: 1.7cm
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceArts and Crafts
Summary
This ring was was made by the firm of Bernard Instone (1891-1987), one of the leading members of the second generation of Arts and Crafts metalworkers.

Born in Birmingham, Instone won a scholarship to the Central School of Art at the age of twelve and learned practical silversmithing and jewellery at the Vittoria Street School, Birmingham. He executed jewellery, metal and shagreen work for John Paul Cooper at Westerham during 1911-12. He was invited to work with Emil Lettré in Berlin, and returned in 1913 to Birmingham where he assisted in the teaching at the Vittoria Street School, before his career was interrupted by war service. He founded the Langstone silver works in 1920. He was a fertile designer and a vigorous champion of his own firm and the contemporary trade. He was President of the Birmingham Jewellers Association in 1937 and active in the preparation of the British Art in Industry Exhibition at Burlington House in 1935. He is said to have employed over forty people at the peak of his commercial success, and to have sold his work to Liberty's and Sibyl Dunlop.
Bibliographic reference
Henriksen, Tracy. Bernard Instone Designer and Craftsman: the art of a jeweller. Elegantium: 2022. ISBN 9781399920995
Collection
Accession number
M.49-1990

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Record createdFebruary 13, 2008
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