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tline3open  Contemporary artisan jewelry markers and their marks

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Author Topic:   Contemporary artisan jewelry markers and their marks
Scott Martin
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Posts: 11520
Registered: Apr 93

iconnumber posted 10-03-2007 08:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott Martin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
June and I are antique silver people however over the years have been drawn into the fascinating would of contemporary artisan jewelry. There is a lot of jewelry on the market. Often the artists are unknown and their pieces are unmarked. And when marked, the marks are not on record anywhere so it is near impossible to lean anything about the maker or to ask for more works by the same maker.

We have attended some great craft shows where we have had to opportunity to meet many working artisan jewelry smiths. We have seen some great pieces but have left the shows without the item. Because the item is unmarked. We have asked why the maker doesn’t mark their works? The usual answer is “everyone knows my work so no there is no need”. Some offer to scratch their initials but a scratch mark can be done by anyone, to anything, at anytime, so it doesn’t do it for us.

When we suggest that we (and our clients) want to purchase items with a unique maker’s mark, it seems to fall on deaf years. Some ask why a unique maker’s mark is important but the myriad of answers we have tried often doesn’t ring any bells for the maker.

There are contemporary artisan jewelry makers who do use an unique maker’s mark. I would like to see the SSF gather their marks in this forum and to do what we can to identify the maker with their marks.

A gathering of marks and associating those marks with the maker will be a great help to collectors of contemporary artisan jewelry. And if we gather and identify enough marks then hopefully others will begin to understand and start to mark their works.

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chicagosilver

Posts: 227
Registered: Aug 2005

iconnumber posted 10-03-2007 09:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for chicagosilver     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
You're right -- there is no central marks library. The Internet has several good marks resources but they're scattered. We're trying to create a canonical list of silver marks here:
http://chicagosilver.com/marks_master_list.htm

We constantly see beautiful jewelry that is unsigned -- a few are shown at

http://chicagosilver.com/unk.htm

and our site includes many unmarked but documented items by such masters as Oakes and Hale.

It's often possible to identify makers from paperwork and studio sketches, catalogs, old magazine stories, work logs, etc. But such ephemera is frequently lost. It's important for all of us to seek out and preserve such vital sources of information before they're gone.

[This message has been edited by Paul Lemieux (edited 10-03-2007).]

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jersey

Posts: 1203
Registered: Feb 2005

iconnumber posted 10-05-2007 01:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jersey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hello Scott!

Continuing the along the same thought, I had occasion to help a friend in identifying miscellaneous art works that had long ago been purchased on trips by or given to him. He had forgotten most of who had done them. What a job trying to read some illegible script or just initials. My friend who too was a known artist was just as guilty, just using just his initials. There are so many with the same initials & unless you are familiar with art, & the artists style you're lost.

After seeing how difficult it was to ID works, though he still continued his using his initials, he then began at my request to print his name, title of the work, and date and even price on the back of the canvas, or on the wood frame on works that he had still kept. The other difficulty in identifying his work from his initials was his style & genre changed over the years, anything from seascapes to charactures.

As an aside, at a charity auction one on his works had been donated after his demise, along with another artists work with the same initials, both being seascapes. The local Charity whose people were not familiar with his work did not like the frames & so gave it to a local framer to do over. The framer in reframing then switched, and I can only assume in error the actual wood frame with the title belonging to my friend, to the other artist. Had I not been at the event preview to see the error & explain to the committee what had happened the work would have gone for pennies.

So too I'm sure that may happen with some signed silver pieces.

At least one suggestion of proper attribution did not fall on deaf ears.

Jersey

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Dale

Posts: 2132
Registered: Nov 2002

iconnumber posted 10-05-2007 10:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dale     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have always found talking about this to be an excercise in futility. Kinda like hitting your head against a brick wall. For some reason, silver jewelry artisans resist the idea of marking their work. One told me that he didn't mark because he copied other peoples' work. Did not want to take credit for that. Several pointed out that they put their names on the receipt. Many did not have a makers stamp. And some said there would not be room on the piece for a readable stamp. Quite a few adopted a firthmark rune as their mark.

They all did not feel part of the long tradition of silver smithing. In fact, most thought of themselves as jewelers first and smiths not very much. And the small shops that produce fine jewelry to be sold in retail stores do not put marks on their jewelry either. Makers are recognized by their style and design.

My own suspicion is that the artisans regard marking as being industrial. As contrary to hand crafting. 'Ye workemen good and truee' as Ruskin put it.

[This message has been edited by Dale (edited 10-05-2007).]

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Dale

Posts: 2132
Registered: Nov 2002

iconnumber posted 10-05-2007 11:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dale     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thinking about the fine jewelry makers I have known, none of them mark their work either. In part, this may be because of the cooperative nature of the making. One jeweler designs the piece, another casts the metal, a third sets the stones, a fourth polishes it up. In every jewelers building I have ever been in, the small shops are highly specialized. One does pave' settings, another colored stones, on and on. That may explain it.

Another consideration is with original designs, there is some sense in which the client owns the design. But given the time and effort that goes into making the first wax for casting, there is another consideration. A jeweler will wait a few years and then make copies of that wax. Which he will send to corresponding jewelers throughout the world. They will then produce one or two copies. So the person who paid for an original one of a kind, may not know there are several on different continents. A mark would be a problem here.

The great fear that haunts the jewelry world is accidentily buying stolen jewelry. What protects jewelers from this is the anonymity of the piece of jewelry. A mark detracts from anonymity. Wholesale jewelers, hypothetically of course, switch stones and settings on every piece they get to protect themselves. Just protecting themselves.

Finally, some loony customers regard a mark as a monogram and want it removed.

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FWG

Posts: 845
Registered: Aug 2005

iconnumber posted 10-07-2007 05:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FWG     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I've actually seen quite a lot of marked new artisanal jewelry, including on my Montreal trip last month, at the MOMA shop, and at craft fairs. But most of what I see is in a dealer's showcase, and I've never felt like it was appropriate to ask to photograph a piece and its marks. If 'we' were to develop a registry, at least we could refer people to submit their own work.

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FredZ

Posts: 1070
Registered: Jun 99

iconnumber posted 10-07-2007 11:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FredZ     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think it is a brilliant idea! Many of the craftsmen here do little to mark there work fully. I have to admit that I only use my initials and year when I mark my work. I began marking the year when it was suggested by an historian. I may begin using my last name as well on my pieces.

Fred

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Cheryl and Richard

Posts: 154
Registered: May 99

iconnumber posted 10-08-2007 11:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cheryl and Richard     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have been a jewelry collector for many years. It is intensely frustrating to discover a great piece of jewelry and not find a mark on it. What are makers thinking? Whatever the cost of having a stamp made, it can't be more than the cost of having wonderful workmanship out in the market and no one knowing who made it. Equally frustrating is the metal marking pen, which makes so many signatures a work of abstract penmanship. I spend more time than I want to think about trying to track down possible makers for unsigned pieces, or pieces which are marked but in undecipherable ways. Plus, there is -- apparently, because I have not been able to find one -- no central registry for contemporary jewelers and silversmiths for their marks (why not? I am dumbfounded that this doesn't exist as yet, particularly given the ease of maintaining some sort of internet central posting location.) For all of us who love the workmanship, and want to know the maker of fabulous pieces, the casual attitude of too many makers toward signing their pieces in any identifiable fashion is incomprehensible.

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