Mastery of Design: The Gaskin Opal Brooch, 1922

Brooch, 1922
Arthur and Georgie Gaskin
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Arthur and Georgie Gaskin--a husband and wife team known for their Arts and Crafts style jewelry--both studied at the Birmingham School of Art.   They later founded a workshop which was celebrated for its elegant and fashionable hand-made jewels.   

Georgie wrote of their work: “I did all the designing & he did all the enamel, and we both executed the work with our assistants.”

The Gaskins favored work in silver--like the brooch we see here.  Their work was characterized by patterns of dense leaves and flowers peppered with gemstones. Take this brooch from 1922, for example.  It consists of a framework of silver wire which has been set with opals and emeralds. The reverse of the brooch is signed with the initial “G.”