Charles Robert Ashbee (1863–1942) Guild Of Handicraft Ltd., London Porringer (porridge Bowl).

Charles Robert Ashbee (1863–1942)
Guild ofHandicraft Ltd., London
Porringer (porridge bowl), 1903–1904

Single-handled porringer in sterling silver (925/1000) with araised, elegantly curved wire handle set with a turquoise cabochon(turquoise or chrysoprase). The bowl is circular and restrained inform, finished with a fully planished (hammered) surface. No appliedornament.

Hallmarks: crowned leopard’s head (London), lion passant(sterling silver), “G of H Ltd” (Guild of Handicraft Limited),date letter “h” for 1903–1904. The piece was produced duringthe Guild’s high period, circa 1900–1905.

Charles Robert Ashbee founded the Guild of Handicraft in 1888 as acooperative workshop combining craftsmanship, social reform ideals,and design innovation. The Guild produced furniture, metalwork,jewellery, and silver. Ashbee’s designs consciously departed fromVictorian ornamentation. Characteristic features include roundedvolumes, elongated wire handles, and sparingly used cabochon stones.The visible hammer marks are not decorative but express the integrityof handwork. The slight irregularity of the stone setting reflectsthe Arts and Crafts preference for natural materials.

The porringer is one of the Guild’s key silver forms. Typicalcharacteristics include the planished surface, elevated wire handle,discreet gemstone accent, and strict reduction to function andmaterial. The present example fully corresponds to these criteria.

Works by the Guild were exhibited internationally, including inVienna, Munich, Paris, and Düsseldorf, influencing the WienerWerkstätte and later workshop-based design movements of the early20th century. Comparable examples are held in the Metropolitan Museumof Art, New York; the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; theMilwaukee Art Museum; Cheltenham Art Gallery; and Birmingham Museum &Art Gallery. Institutional representation confirms the art-historicalrelevance of this model.

Guild of Handicraft porringers are highly collectibleinternationally.

Literature: Alan Crawford, C.R. Ashbee: Architect, Designer &Romantic Socialist, Yale University Press, 2005. ElizabethCumming / Wendy Kaplan, The Arts and Crafts Movement, Thames& Hudson, 1991. Further reference examples are accessible throughthe online collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, theVictoria & Albert Museum, and the Hessisches LandesmuseumDarmstadt.

A refined example of British Arts and Crafts silver from theGuild’s mature period.