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Lot 72Y
A pair of gold, cloisonné enamel and coral pendent earrings, by H. G. Murphy, circa 1930
Amended
20 September 2017, 13:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £9,375 inc. premium
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A pair of gold, cloisonné enamel and coral pendent earrings, by H. G. Murphy, circa 1930
Of Oriental inspiration, each drop composed of three graduating ox-blood red coral beads, capped by bell-shaped stupa motifs in green and blue enamel with white enamel upturned eaves, suspended from a gold floral surmount, unsigned, length 9.4cm, fitted case by Murphy, Goldsmith London with insignia for the Falcon Workshop
Footnotes
Provenance
Bequeathed by Mrs H.G. Murphy to the present owner
Exhibited: 'International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery 1899-1961'; Goldsmiths' Hall, London, Oct-Dec 1961
Illustrated in Atterbury, Paul and Benjamen, John, "Arts and Crafts to Art Deco. The Jewellery and Silver of H.G. Murphy", Antique Collector's Club, London, page 59. The design drawings for two similar pairs of earrings are illustrated on page 58.
H.G. Murphy was born in Birchington-on-Sea in Kent on 27th October, 1884. His father, a groom, died when Harry was only six and the family was obliged to seek lodgings in London, where they settled in premises located just off Kensington Church Street.
A shy and introspective boy, Harry was largely self-taught and spent much of his spare time in the local library where, according to family tradition, he devoured Encyclopedia Britannica from cover to cover firing a lifelong passion for many of the subjects which were to influence his designs including botany, astronomy, astrology and zoology.
At the age of 14, a chance meeting at a local Arts and Crafts exhibition was to have a radical bearing on Harry's life and career. While admiring the silverware on display he fell into conversation with Henry Wilson, the celebrated designer and craftsman who, clearly impressed by the boy's enthusiasm, offered Harry a six-year apprenticeship at his studio in Kensington. Wilson was probably England's greatest teacher and mentor of young talent in the Arts and Crafts tradition and by the end of his apprenticeship Harry had mastered many of the skills necessary to be a highly competent goldsmith and silversmith, such as hammering, engraving, gem polishing, gem setting, niello work and enamelling. Unsurprisingly, much of his output before and after the First World War was strongly influenced by nature and naturalism and it was not until the 1920s that he started to experiment with a range of different ideas and concepts.
In 1928, Harry Murphy established retail premises in Marylebone called the Falcon Studio. By the early 1930s, his output was prodigious encompassing silver commissions from City institutions, churches, schools and sporting associations as well as small-scale jewellery in silver and gold, such as a splendid topaz, sapphire, diamond and polychrome enamel tiara designed and made for the Princess Royal. By the mid 1930s, the influence of Art Deco inspired Murphy to change direction entirely and as far as his jewellery was concerned, the soft flowing lines and naturalistic designs of the earlier Arts and Crafts period gave way to an exuberance and explosion of colour, strongly redolent of the Ballets Russes - and even Manhattan skyline.
The Falcon studio prospered through the late 1930s but Murphy's health had begun to deteriorate. In 1938 he received the award of Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) from The Duke of Gloucester and Harry was appointed the Faculty's First Master. He died on 10th July, 1939, at the tragically young age of 54.
These two pairs of earrings offered for sale were consigned by H.G. Murphy's grandaughters to whom they were directly bequethed. The earrings are a powerful expression of Harry's innovative style and sheer sense of fun, a perfect vehicle for his creative imagination. They provide a rare opportunity to acquire jewellery by one of England's most technically accomplished and forward-thinking designer goldsmiths.
Saleroom notices
The photograph in the published catalogue shows the interior of Henry Wilson's workshop, where H.G. Murphy trained.