Cigarette Lighter
1977 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
With the exception of the portrait miniature, the use of the human form in jewellery and objets d’arts is seldom purely representational. In the 1970s aspects such as humour, eroticism and symbolism were also present, such as seen here in the cigarette lighter made by Karel Bartosik.
It belongs to a range of lighters and jewellery he made in the seventies with houses and office furniture as themes. The naturalistic architecture in silver and gold shows a closed butcher's shop. In the upper window, we glimpse a silhouette drawing down a blind.
Bartosik was born in England but his parents were of Dutch and Czech origin. Between 1946 -1967 he lived in Czechoslavakia and worked initially for a costume jewellery manufacturer. On his return to England he joined the workshop of Andrew Grima in London, where he stayed for several years. Later he became a technician at the Royal College of Art in the Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery Department (1991-2007).
It belongs to a range of lighters and jewellery he made in the seventies with houses and office furniture as themes. The naturalistic architecture in silver and gold shows a closed butcher's shop. In the upper window, we glimpse a silhouette drawing down a blind.
Bartosik was born in England but his parents were of Dutch and Czech origin. Between 1946 -1967 he lived in Czechoslavakia and worked initially for a costume jewellery manufacturer. On his return to England he joined the workshop of Andrew Grima in London, where he stayed for several years. Later he became a technician at the Royal College of Art in the Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery Department (1991-2007).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver and gold |
| Brief description | Silver cigarette lighter in the form of a butcher's shop, by Karel Bartosik, London 1977. |
| Physical description | A three-dimensional rendition of a house with a closed butcher's shop on the ground floor and the outline of a figure in gold at an upstairs window. The door opens to reveal a buxom butcher's wife in gold brandishing an axe. At the back an advertising hoarding displays an image of a joint of meat captioned '30% OFF' while below a dog relieves himself at the foot of a drainpipe. The chimney stack with three gold pots ignites the lighter when pressed down. It may be opened for refuelling at the base. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'KTB' and London hallmarks for 1977 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | With the exception of the portrait miniature, the use of the human form in jewellery and objets d’arts is seldom purely representational. In the 1970s aspects such as humour, eroticism and symbolism were also present, such as seen here in the cigarette lighter made by Karel Bartosik. It belongs to a range of lighters and jewellery he made in the seventies with houses and office furniture as themes. The naturalistic architecture in silver and gold shows a closed butcher's shop. In the upper window, we glimpse a silhouette drawing down a blind. Bartosik was born in England but his parents were of Dutch and Czech origin. Between 1946 -1967 he lived in Czechoslavakia and worked initially for a costume jewellery manufacturer. On his return to England he joined the workshop of Andrew Grima in London, where he stayed for several years. Later he became a technician at the Royal College of Art in the Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery Department (1991-2007). |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.2-1983 |
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| Record created | April 22, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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