Report By Melissa Rigby
Enamel had a strong showing again at this year’s awards at Goldsmith’s Hall in March, with three of our pre-eminent enamellers scooping up some of the top awards.
Fred Rich, who worked in collaboration with silversmith Christopher Lawrence, won The Goldsmith’s Company Award for his Enamelled Jug and Dish, which features willow warblers, dragonflies and a nest of eggs on Britannia silver with 18c and 22c gold cloisonné. This award comes with a cash prize of £4,500 (split between the makers) and is given ‘at the discretion of the Council to the piece of finished work that is judged to have achieved the highest standards of both craftsmanship and design’. Fred was also awarded the Gold Award for Senior Enamellers for this extraordinary piece of work. Amazingly, it was made as a speculative work, but such is the demand for Fred’s work from collectors, that he found a buyer straight away.
Fred Rich, Jug handle close up.
Fred Rich, Enamelled Jug and Dish, Britannia Silver, 18ct & 22ct gold. Jug is around 300mm high.
Fred Rich, Enamelled Dish, Britannia Silver, 18ct & 22ct gold. Dish is around 600mm diameter.
Phil Barnes won the Silver Award for Senior Enamellers and a Special Council Award for his Silver Enamel Dish and Stand, which unusually for him, he made on spec to his own design. The stand has a pierced out design with four clear acrylic columns, and the dish features his characteristic virtuoso champlevé and basse taille engraving with stylized flowers and leaves, and is for sale.
Phill Barnes, Enamelled Dish, Standard Silver. 155mm diameter
In the Enamel Painters Section, Gillie Hoyte Byrom was awarded a Silver Award for her portrait of Queen Mary I after Antonis Mor Portrait Miniature. This gold framed panel was painted on 18ct yellow gold, shaped for her by silversmith Clive Burr, and commissioned by her private collector.
Gillie Hoyte Byrom, Painted Enamel of Mary Tudor, 18c gold, 8cm x 11cm
Janine Greenberg won two Commended Awards for Enamel Painters for her Silver Triptych (a commissioned piece) and her Conversations Panel on Copper, which is made up from different shaped panels - like a jigsaw. Both works employ a relaxed approach to enamel painting, and display an interesting contrast to Gillie’s more formal style of miniature portraiture.
Janine Greenberg, Triptych, Sterling Silver, each panel 60 x 120mm
Janine Greenberg, Conversations Panel, copper, 220 X 280mm
