NO US IMPORT FEES 

Pewter Arts and Crafts brooch of circular form featuring greenish blue green 

Ruskin pottery cabochon

 

CONDITION: good vintage condition

 

SIZE: 1½ ins diam (4 cm)

 

APPROXIMATE DATE: late 19^th – early 20^th century

 

MATERIALS: pewter, ceramic

 

DESCRIPTION:

 

This sweet and pretty circular pewter arts and crafts brooch is an excellent example of its type. It is set with an oval Ruskin pottery stone in a lovely bluish green. This is enclosed within a stylized repoussé border.

 

The brooch fastens with a traditional roll over C clasp which indicates it was probably made in the Edwardian era. Other items in this collection are shown in the final photograph.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

 

Arts and Crafts pewter brooches featuring Ruskin Pottery cabochons or art glass roundels are highly sought-after collector's items from the Edwardian era. Their hand-wrought pewter settings feature distinct repoussé, or stylized Art Nouveau motifs (like whiplashes, leaves, or stylized vines). They are renowned for their vibrant coluors, including crystalline, lustrous metallic finishes, and iconic deep teal or blue-green marbled effects.

 

Pewter was deliberately chosen over sterling silver during the later Arts and Crafts movement to give pieces a darker, more rustic, and medieval aesthetic that complemented the deep, mottled glazes of the ceramic.

 

Since the Birmingham workshops and other independent metalworkers bought unmounted Ruskin plaques to set into their own frames, many pieces by smaller makers remain unbranded.