“ Crude masses of naturalistic flowers are really of no account whatever, for a bouquet of diamonds can never have the exquisite charm of a fresh, sweet-smelling bunch of real blossoms. Only a fairly good design, founded on some flower or leaf which can be satisfactorily reproduced in, and is, so to speak, en rapport with, the jewels to be used, can succeed in pleasing through beauty of form alone, independently of any association. ”

“ Otto Prutscher's necklaces and rings are remarkable alike for the beauty and harmonious variety of their colouring. He uses enamel to a great extent, and also quite small precious stones. Very uncommon, too, is the way in which he employs metal, though only enough of it to hold the enamel in its place. It would appear as if the artist had in his mind a vision of the women who are to wear his work, who are too tender and frail to carry any weight, so that the use of much metal in ornaments for them would be quite unsuitable. ”

“ In these days, when excessive complications in jewel-work are so general and so much esteemed, these rings, necklaces and plaques, with their symmetrical linear designs in monochrome or reddish or greenish metal, relieved at times by pearls only, and with their formal ajourements, will doubtless seem to many people too simple or too commonplace. It will be justly urged against them that they are not sufficiently symbolic, that they take no account of the human form. No nymph disports herself amid the fall of the leaves in a lake of enamel bordered by water-lilies and iris blooms ”

“ One of the most noteworthy peculiarities of Elsa Unger's work is, indeed, her mastery of her material. She is not content, as are unfortunately most of her contemporaries, with delegating to others the working out of her designs, but she herself sees to every detail, doing all the work with her own hands. Some of her articles, such as gentlemen's studs and sleeve-links, in beaten silver, relieved with blue enamel, are alike simple and elegant, and have the rare advantage of being also cheap. ”

“ Gross, who formerly lived in Munich, delighted us while there with a good many beautiful designs for jewellery. He produced not only female ornaments, but also paper-cutters, seals, and so on. He always displayed good taste and a fine sense of form, having, like Olbrich, the capacity to carry out his designs quite independently, without consideration of his predecessors' effects. A hair-pin of Gross's may be regarded as quite an independent work, although it relies on an old tradition. Those artists, indeed, show the most freedom who have adapted the beautiful examples of past generations. ”

“ The Fiji islanders sport gold chains round their necks, and the African negroes in their untamed state load themselves with every glittering object they can get hold of, looking upon the multiplication of ornaments as a sign of wealth. Very different, of course, is the state of civilisation of those who look upon decoration as an evidence of art culture, and care only for such ornaments as require the exercise of technical skill in their production, valuing them in proportion to the amount of that skill displayed by their craftsmen, rather than the intrinsic value of their material. ”

“ The combination of works of painting and sculpture with the most exquisite productions of ceramic art, glass-ware, and all that is most delicate in jewellery and goldsmith's work, adds a special attraction to these exhibitions, which are always looked for with the utmost interest. It is, indeed, the jewellers, who, among all our Belgian art workers, have succeeded in making themselves and their productions the best known and most widely appreciated ”

“ It is urged against them that they are crude, incomplete and imperfect in execution. The truth is, these two artists—whom I bring into conjunction, although their work is dissimilar, save from their common regard for freedom in the use of materials—have, above all, a love for natural forms. Out of a flower, a piece of seaweed, or any humble motif, vegetable or animal, they construct jewels in gold or oxidised silver, discreetly relieved by stones, which, if of no great intrinsic value, are nevertheless highly decorative. ”

“ The cheapness of material, so essential in an educational establishment, has not been allowed to detract in [7] the very slightest degree from the beauty of the work produced; so that it is possible to have a real work of art, of which but few examples are produced, at a very low price—say from about thirty-five shillings; and that work is not a machine-made article, but one the production of which, by his or her own hand, has been a true labour of love to the designer, marking a real progress in art culture. ”

“ Much good, therefore, may be expected to result from the official sanction afforded by the Goldsmiths' Company to the jewellery work of their Technical Institute, to which a number of very creditable designs owe their existence. Among others may be singled out some decorations for watch-backs, a branch of the craft as useful as it is neglected; those who have taken it up, like Miss Kate Allen, for instance, being unfortunately but rare exceptions. There is no reason, however, why everyone who carries a watch should not enjoy in it the constant companionship of a thing of beauty. ”

“ To the Technical Academy of Vienna the architect, Otto Prutscher, and the painter, V. Schoenthoner, also owe much, but the charm of their work consists rather in its colour than in its form. Much is to be hoped in the future from both of these talented artists, and what they have already produced proves that there has been no sacrifice of individuality, no cramping of special tendencies, such as is so much to be deprecated elsewhere, in the training they have received. ”

“ Nevertheless, he interprets Nature, but is never dominated by it. He has too true, too exact a sense of the decorative principle to conform to the absolute reality of the things he admires and reproduces. His art, by virtue of this rule, is thus a modified translation of real forms. He has too much taste to introduce into the composition of one and the same jewel flowers or animals which have no parallel symbol or, at least, some family likeness or significance. ”

“ Ashbee's, as the two handsome peacock pattern brooches are of his more solid and substantial jewellery; while, again, the necklace of green malachite, turquoise, and silver, with pendants of grape bunches alternating with vine-leaf and tendril ornaments, occupies an intermediate position midway between the two former classes of his work.
One is always glad to welcome an artist who is courageous and firm enough to grapple with the practical difficulties that surround him, and who sets about to reform, where need requires, the native industry of his own neighbourhood. ”

“ To sum up, then, if our modern art jewellery cannot boast any conspicuously brilliant features, at any rate it is of a high average standard. And though, as is the case of all good work, it must needs share many qualities in common with the noble treasures of the past, it yet does not assimilate to any historic style. ”

“ In the first place, it seems that the artists of the present time (I speak of Germany) are not successful in designing finger-rings. Here and there one sees an attempt made to design characteristic shapes, but the sphere of the ring is so confined that nobody has succeeded in producing anything really elegant and novel. Mostly one sees extravagant examples, of confused design. The second peculiar fact is, that one very seldom finds an artist devoting himself to designing earrings. The whole artistic movement in relation to women's ornaments is still somewhat puerile. ”

“ If we cast a glance, however hasty and cursory it may be, over the development of jewellery in Vienna, noting the forms most popular in that city in past times, it is impossible not to be struck with the way in which every historical phase of art is reflected in these forms. ”

“ A man who ventures to wear much jewellery is called old-fashioned, but there are still people who dare to sport a single great diamond or some other simple ornament on their shirt fronts. A pearl without setting, an emerald, or so-called sapphire en cabochon, are still frequently seen. The present fashion allowing men to tie their cravats in all manner of different styles to suit their own particular fancy, has led to the manufacture of a few varieties of scarf rings which admit of a certain amount of artistic intertwining of the gold, if it be gold of which they are made. ”

“ Arthur Gaskin. Their home is in a locality where a large amount of very deplorable jewellery is produced; so deplorable that they determined, if possible, to provide an antidote to the prevailing degradation. And the reason why the vast mass of the trade jewellery manufactured in Birmingham is bad is that in style and outline it is utterly devoid of artistic inspiration, while at the same time it is perfect as concerns mere technique. The pity of it is that such excellent workmanship should be wasted on such contemptible design. ”

“ Furthermore, to depreciate the part played by jewellery in relation to decorative art would be equivalent to minimising the rôle of womankind in civilisation. Then, again, as regards decoration or adornment, has not the highest mission devolved on woman? Has she not had to assume the most active part in it all? The modern jewellery vogue has, I am convinced, done more in France to propagate new ideas in the way of decorative art than all the æsthetic theories ever evolved, however sound. ”

“ It should perhaps, however, be remarked that those races who are the heirs of a strong art tradition do not need, as do others less fortunate, to prove the wealth of their inheritance by the use of lavish ornament. Their inherent artistic culture is indeed evidenced by the fact that they expect their artists to exercise their skill on materials less costly than do those who, to a certain extent, have their reputations still to make. Benvenuto Cellini had to be content to work in silver, the Americans want to have every stick or umbrella-handle to be of gold. ”

“ MY opportunities of surveying the German jewellery market, and of making acquaintance with the ins and outs of the jewellers' business, have been limited; but it is certain that both are flourishing; at least, the German jewellers do not look as if they starved! Moreover, the demand for precious ornaments seems to increase year by year, and the display in the jewellers' windows grows more and more luxurious, as is the case with most other businesses. Nobody will store superfluous and unmarketable goods, least of all the jeweller, who is always a business man. ”

“ The artistic jewellery produced in this country has not, from its very nature, appealed chiefly to the richest classes of the community, but rather to those of quite moderate means. And while, on the one hand, it is encouraging to observe how much of good work has been and is being done towards raising the standard of jewellery design amongst us, it is nevertheless disappointing to have to record how little support it has found in influential and official quarters. ”

“ In the designing of ornaments for the neck, art jewellers have far more scope than formerly for the exercise of their imagination, and they are disposed, to some extent, to follow the French mode, that is to say, they make necklaces flat and broad, so as to give an effect of slenderness to the throat of the wearer. It is a matter of course that combs and pins for the hair are often of very fine workmanship, showing much skill and taste on the part of their designers. Strange to say, however, even in Vienna, few rings for women of real art value are produced. ”

“ Examining our new jewellery, we find very little work which has the appearance of having been done by a strong hand. Most of it in time becomes unbearably monotonous. Still, it is something that we in Germany have at least two artists who design in so fresh and characteristic a manner that their works are always looked at with the greatest interest. ”

“ There has, moreover, taken place an extended revival of enamelling, an art which offers abundant opportunities for the exercise of the decorator's skill and fancy. It is worthy of remark that our artists' imagination in jewellery seldom degenerates into any great extravagance. ”

“ Even then he must sometimes put up with the fact that his design, which was intended for one person or purpose only, is repeated, like a manufactured article, a hundred and a thousand times again.
Happily there are some artists in Germany, as in England, France, and Belgium, who are above the fashion, and whose artistic individuality is so strong that they are bound to succeed in other spheres of art as well as in that of women's jewellery. ”

“ I have already spoken of the work in diamonds of Roset and Fischmeister, and I should like to refer to those two master craftsmen again in connection with some of their figural ornaments, such as buckles for belts, rings, studs for shirt fronts and cuffs, etc., worked in dull or bright gold, all of which I consider worthy to be spoken of as Viennese works of art. The different masks on the studs, each with its own individual expression, really display quite remarkable talent in their designer, for they are not only thoroughly artistic but most amusing studies in physiognomy. ”

“ Among the works produced during the past five years or so—that is, since the full expansion of the movement—there are many which, by their originality, their technical perfection, deserve to remain. And remain they certainly will, to bear witness to the audacious fancy, the creative faculty of our artists, and as a sort of passionate homage laid by the men of to-day at the feet of the Eternal Feminine. ”

“ His jewellery is the best we have now in Germany, because it is superior to fashions and periods. His jewels are pure, thoughtful works of art. When worn, they produce a most sumptuous effect; but their richness has nothing tawdry about it. ”

“ In certain cases, however, the pendants in gold relief, in crystal, or in enamel, are of pleasing, though not particularly original design.
Working in enamel is of course an independent art in itself, and to begin with, I must remark that, as a general rule, beautiful as are the colour effects produced by Viennese craftsmen, it is impossible to reproduce exactly the delicate charm of the original sketches from which the designs are worked out. Very good results can, however, be obtained in what the French call émail à jour, or émail translucide, as well as in the old-fashioned opaque enamel. ”

“ Most of the ornaments were of silver, the surface of which was not worked up to a brilliantly shining burnish, in the prevalent fashion of the day, but dull polished in such wise as to give the charming richness and tone of old silverwork. Mr. Ashbee also adopted the use of jewels, not lavishly nor ostentatiously, but just wherever a note of colour would [4] convey the most telling effect, the stones in themselves, e.g. amethysts, amber, and rough pearl, being of no particular value, save purely from the point of view of decoration. ”

“ The men of Vienna pride themselves more than the French, more even than the people of Northern Europe, on their women, and as a result of this pride there is sure to be plenty of beautiful jewellery of varied design to be met with in the town in which they live. ”

“ How chastely effective, moreover, is the way in which the leaf-motive is worked out in the pins for the hair designed by Mesmer, and what a happy thought it was to make the many-coloured half-jewels, or jewels of minor value, emerge as they do from the beaten silver. These works are, moreover, a very striking example of how necessity may sometimes become a virtue. ”