Object Type
In the latter part of the 1890s, Charles Robert Ashbee and his Guild of Handicraft started to design and produce silver tableware, most notably bowls, dishes and decanters. Ashbee chose to work with a few simple elements, such as plain hammered silver, coloured stones set sparingly, in this case lapis lazuli, and fluent, sweeping wire work. The wire loop handles on this bowl were a characteristic feature of Ashbee's designs.

People
Ashbee and his fellow guildsmen sought to promote a natural and ethical approach towards craftsmanship. They adopted the aesthetic principles of the Arts and Crafts Movement in which the transformational potential of creativity was re-integrated into daily life through art. Their social orientation was towards equality and co-operation beyond the workshop. This was manifest, for instance, in profit-sharing and communal activities such as sport and music making.

Materials & Making
Ashbee and his Guild reacted against mechanical, highly finished silver products manufacture on production lines in large scale factories. It attempted to re-assert the role of the individual craftsmen who could see the creation of an item through from start to finish. Hammer marks are clearly visible on the surface of this bowl; a deliberate finish to emphasise that it was hand made.