Fork
- Place of origin:
Essex House (Mile End) (made)
London (hallmarked) - Date:
1901-1902 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Ashbee, Charles Robert, born 1863 - died 1942 (designer)
Guild of Handicraft Ltd. (maker) - Materials and Techniques:
Silver, embossed
- Credit Line:
Duchess of Leeds Gift
- Museum number:
CIRC.363A-1959
- Gallery location:
In Storage
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, embossing and sometimes, piercing 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.
