Painted enamel on copper, James Cromar Watt, Scotland, ca.1900

Circular mirror back in turned wooden frame. Painted with red, blue and yellow enamels on copper with palmette decoration. Some translucent enamels over silver foils. Gold highlights.

Bought from the artist, who described it in correspondence with the Museum as 'Circular enamel for back of a hand mirror'. On RF 1901/2679, it says ‘The red disc in its present frame £5.10s.’ and ‘If mounted as the back of a hand mirror, it would cost from £2 to £5 more, according to the character of the design’. The object was duly purchased for £5.10s.

James Cromar Watt was born and educated in Aberdeen. He trained as an architect in Aberdeen and London, becoming an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1892. He went on study tours in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Greece between 1886 and 1893, which inspired him to start to form a collection including ancient ceramics and East Asian metalwork, and to deal in works of art. Watt, largely self-taught in practical metalwork, increasingly turned from architecture to creating jewellery and metalwork from 1896. He specialised in gold granulation, an ancient technique revived by Alessandro Castellani (who exhibited examples at the London International Exhibition of 1872) as well as enamelling in Limoges revival techniques such as grisaille and translucent enamels over foils. He was influenced by Alexander Fisher and Phoebe Traquair and collaborated with the painter and stained glass artist, Douglas Strachan. His jewellery used many stunning enamel colours. He executed enamel plaques for use in ecclesiastical contexts, and took inspiration from medieval jewellery exhibited at the V&A (then South Kensington Museum). Between 1902 and 1921, he exhibited enamels with the Aberdeen Artists Society. His work appeared periodically in The Art Journal and he exhibited in Turin in 1902. Living for many years at 71, Dee Street, Aberdeen, he took a keen interest in botany, growing rare species in his garden. Flower motifs often appear in his work, as evidenced by this mirror back. Following his sudden death in an accident in 1940, his collections which included examples of his own work, were bequeathed to Aberdeen Art Gallery and the Royal Scottish Museum (now National Museums Scotland).

The Scottish architect, James Cromar Watt (1862-1940) was a keen traveller, botanist and collector of works of art which included ancient ceramics and East Asian metalwork. From 1896, he largely taught himself metalworking and enamelling skills, inspired by his contemporaries in those fields such as Alexander Fisher and Phoebe Traquair. He specialised in gold granulation, an ancient technique revived by Alessandro Castellani in 1870s, as well as enamelling techniques such as grisaille and the use of translucent enamels over foils, which had been perfected by the Limoges enamellers of the sixteenth century.

This circular plaque in red, blue and yellow enamels on copper is an example of his use of translucent enamels over foil to create a jewelled effect. The flower motifs echo his interest in horticulture. The plaque is set in a wooden frame but was originally designed to be mounted in the back of a hand mirror.

161-1901