Lecture Programme 2020

28 January

Thomas Holman

A Box Full of Buttons: The Life and Work of Frederick James Partridge (1877-1945)

Thomas was visiting The Wilson Museum and Art Gallery in Cheltenham when he spotted a beautiful carved horn haircomb decorated with moonstones and enamel in the Art Nouveau style. He immediately thought it was by a Parisian master, such as René Lalique or Lucien Gaillard. Thomas was therefore shocked to read the name on the label, ‘Frederick Partridge (1877-1945)’. His interest was piqued – who was Frederick Partridge and how did this boy from Barnstaple come to create such a piece? It is a story right at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, taking us from Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds to Branscombe in Devon and Ditchling in Sussex.

25 February
AGM followed by

Stephen Whittaker

Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant - Michael Kappor

Stephen will talk about the influence of technology and the internet in a modern auction house and how it is transforming the reach of smaller auction houses to a worldwide audience…….. and all of the advantages and disadvantages that technology brings. His talk will include some updates on the current state of the jewellery market.

All lectures for the rest of the 2019/2020 season were postponed due to the corona virus lockdown.

24 March

Carol Michaelson

Postponed to 27 April 2021

Chinese jade jewellery and ornaments from the Neolithic to the Present

26 May

Ute Decker

postponed to 23 November 2021

Sculptural Minimalism & Fairtrade Gold — philosophy, provenance and process

22 September

Niamh Whitfield

online lecture only - to watch a recording of this lecture (members only), click here.

The ‘Tara’ brooch: the making of an early medieval masterpiece from Ireland

Dating to around AD 700, the 'Tara' brooch is the creation of a virtuoso. Working on a minute scale, its maker prized intricate and precise design for its own sake, and used so many different techniques that it can be regarded as a masterpiece in the true sense of the word, demonstrating his range of skills. When it was displayed in London in 1863, one of the Castellani brothers remarked that it had been ‘worth the journey from Italy to see it’. This talk, based in part on unpublished research, will show why Castellani was so impressed.

The talk by Professor Gordon M. Walkden, originally scheduled for this date, on 'The rocks of Britain: our Victorian Jewellery' has been postponed. We will publish the new date as soon as possible.

27 October

Lynne Bartlett

online lecture only - to watch a recording of this lecture (members only), click here.

Titanium the magical metal

In this talk, the jeweller Dr Lynne Bartlett describes her research into titanium, a metal that has been widely used in jewellery since the middle of the twentieth century, and which she uses in her own work. Titanium has been mainly appreciated for its colour potential, and recent decades have seen its increasing use as a lightweight metal for setting diamonds. The talk will outline the early history of its use, highlighting the different techniques employed, and present research into the behaviour of the surfaces of titanium before and after colouring, explaining why the effects achieved can be variable.

To download a copy of Lynne's pdf thesis, on which this talk was based, click here (can be slow).

24 November

Mouza Al-Wardi, Marcia Dorr, Aude Mongiatti and Fahmida Sulmeman

online lecture only - to watch a recording of this lecture (members only), click here.

Adornment, Identity and Empowerment: Female Silversmiths in Southern Oman

Throughout the Arabian Peninsula, silversmithing is almost universally identified as a male occupation, although a large proportion of the articles produced are for women. However, there is a relatively unknown, endangered tradition of female silversmithing in the Sultanate of Oman. In this talk, we will share some of our early research findings from an ongoing collaborative project supported by the British Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum and the National Museum of Oman on the last surviving female silversmiths of Dhofar, southern Oman.
Mouza Sulaiman Mohamed Al-Wardi is the Director for Collections Department at the National Museum of Oman (NMO) in Muscat, where she has worked since 2009. She played a critical role as Chief Curator in the development of the newly built and completely re-installed NMO, which opened to the public in 2016.
Marcia Dorr served as Advisor to the Omani Government for 25 years and is the co-author of 'The Craft Heritage of Oman', a two-volume book documenting Oman's artisanal heritage. She is currently Chief Editor of English texts for the Oman Across Ages Museum.
Aude Mongiatti is an archaeological scientist in the Department of Scientific Research at the British Museum, where she has been working since 2007. She studies ancient metallurgical technologies and metalworking techniques, mainly using microscopy, radiography and X-ray fluorescence.
Fahmida Suleman is the Curator of Islamic Art and Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, Canada. Prior to joining the ROM she was the Curator for the Modern Middle East at the British Museum for ten years and curated the 2011 exhibition, 'Adornment and Identity: Jewellery and Costume from Oman'.

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