CHARLOTTE DE SYLLAS: TOURMALINE AND NEPHRITE 'SEA PLANT' BROOCH, 1996

Footnotes

Exhibited:
'Charlotte De Syllas: Sculpted Gemstones', The Goldsmiths' Hall, London, 27th April - 22nd July 2016

Literature:
Exhibition catalogue, 'Charlotte De Syllas: Jewellery in Carved Gemstones', 2016, ill. p.55

In 1963, at Hornsey College of Art, Charlotte De Syllas enrolled on a new and innovative jewellery making course, recently established by the pioneering and hugely influential jeweller, Gerda Flӧckinger, CBE (b.1927). One of the first students to graduate, De Syllas' jewellery caught the attention of Graham Hughes, who purchased her entire body of student work for The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths Collection. Hughes served as Art Director of The Goldsmiths' Company between 1951-1981 and actively promoted the work of British avant-garde jewellers. The 'International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery, 1890-1960' held at Goldsmiths' Hall under his leadership in 1961, marked a watershed moment for British jewellery design and the industry at large.

Each of the four De Syllas jewels presented in this sale (lots 83 - 86) were exhibited at a major retrospective exhibition of De Syllas' work, held by The Goldsmiths' Company at Goldsmiths' Hall in 2016. The exhibition featured 73 unique pieces, covering her student work from the 1960s to her latest commissions. Prior to this, De Syllas won the first ever Jerwood Prize for Jewellery in 1995 (jointly with Peter Chang). Since graduating in 1966, she has taught and exhibited internationally and her work can be found in the permanent collections of the V&A Museum, the Crafts Council in London and the Alice and Louis Koch Collection at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich.

De Syllas designs a jewel around the form of the gemstone she carves, creating sculptural pieces that are tailored specifically to each client – their complexion, hair colour, personality and personal preferences are all considered. Sculpting gemstones requires a great depth of understanding, experience, patience and skill and the art is fraught with many challenges. While the metal settings are secondary to the gemstone itself, De Syllas carefully considers the metal used in order to best enhance and seamlessly support each carving. She employs unconventional methods traditionally used in other fields, such as gunsmithing and dentistry and embraces new technologies, such as digital design drawing and laser welding. Her work is truly exceptional for its technical brilliance and fearless ingenuity. Nearly all of her pieces are private commissions, and this is likely to be the first time her jewellery has ever been presented to a global audience at auction.

Made from two tourmaline crystals that had formed side by side, the carving of the gemstones in the present lot was De Syllas' first experiment with crackled tourmaline which can shatter and splinter easily. The jigsaw-like union between the carved nephrite and tourmaline crystals was attained by adapting a smoke fitting technique employed by gunsmiths, which uses gouache paint instead of soot. The resulting seamless connection between the two gemstones is secured with a single gold rivet at the front of the brooch, which is linked to two long supports inserted into the crevices of the carved tourmaline scrolls.