DOI issue:
No. 263 (February 1915)
DOI article:Smith, Hamilton T.: Harold Stabler: Worker in metals and enamels
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21212#0043
Harold Stabler s Metal-work and Enamels
it can be made, in spite of this simplification, may
be seen by comparing the various textures in the
first of the four panels on p. 35, where the
smooth round limbs of the children, the shaggy
fur of the bear, and the delicacy of the flowers
are all rendered in a. most masterly way. The
coloured plate shows well the rich and jewel-like
effect of these panels, very reminiscent of Pompeian
frescoes, with their backgrounds of black or red.
Full as they are of charming fancy they are even
more remarkable for the ingenuity aud economy ol
means with which the artist has achieved his
effects.
The use of cloisonne enamel for the enrichment
of silversmiths’ work is shown in the Keighley
Casket and also in the fine centre-piece made for
the 5th Battalion of the Welsh Regiment, which
occupied a prominent position at the exhibition oi
British Art and Crafts held in Paris last summer.
After the dreary, misbegotten caskets which are
commonly made for purposes of presentation, the
former is a sheer joy, and it says much for the en-
lightenment of Keighley that its
hall-mark of the true craftsman, and
it is possessed to the full by Mr.
Stabler. His activities in various
metals cover a wide field, ranging
from gold jewellery, finished with the
utmost delicacy, to architectural
bronze work.
But probably his finest and most
characteristic work is that in cloi-
sonne enamel. It is curious , that
this ancient form of decoration,,
capable of such varied uses, should
have been so little employed by
modern artists. Mr. Stabler, using
the methods of ancient China and
Byzantium, with the liveliest insight,
into their possibilities, has evolved a:
style which is not only original but
extraordinarily modern in feeling. 'It.
would be difficult to speak too highly
of his achievements in this medium.
With its severe limitations it demands
at once a nice sense of colour and
the most consummate drawing; out-
line is all-important, and as this
outline consists solely of the wire
“ cloisons ” which enclose the various
fields of colour, it must be simplified
to the last degree. How suggestive
NECKLACE in SILVER AND GOLD SET WITH STONES
BY HAROLD STABLER
SILVER CREAM JUGS AND SUGAR-BASINS. DESIGNED AND EXECUTED
BY HAROLD STABLER
37
it can be made, in spite of this simplification, may
be seen by comparing the various textures in the
first of the four panels on p. 35, where the
smooth round limbs of the children, the shaggy
fur of the bear, and the delicacy of the flowers
are all rendered in a. most masterly way. The
coloured plate shows well the rich and jewel-like
effect of these panels, very reminiscent of Pompeian
frescoes, with their backgrounds of black or red.
Full as they are of charming fancy they are even
more remarkable for the ingenuity aud economy ol
means with which the artist has achieved his
effects.
The use of cloisonne enamel for the enrichment
of silversmiths’ work is shown in the Keighley
Casket and also in the fine centre-piece made for
the 5th Battalion of the Welsh Regiment, which
occupied a prominent position at the exhibition oi
British Art and Crafts held in Paris last summer.
After the dreary, misbegotten caskets which are
commonly made for purposes of presentation, the
former is a sheer joy, and it says much for the en-
lightenment of Keighley that its
hall-mark of the true craftsman, and
it is possessed to the full by Mr.
Stabler. His activities in various
metals cover a wide field, ranging
from gold jewellery, finished with the
utmost delicacy, to architectural
bronze work.
But probably his finest and most
characteristic work is that in cloi-
sonne enamel. It is curious , that
this ancient form of decoration,,
capable of such varied uses, should
have been so little employed by
modern artists. Mr. Stabler, using
the methods of ancient China and
Byzantium, with the liveliest insight,
into their possibilities, has evolved a:
style which is not only original but
extraordinarily modern in feeling. 'It.
would be difficult to speak too highly
of his achievements in this medium.
With its severe limitations it demands
at once a nice sense of colour and
the most consummate drawing; out-
line is all-important, and as this
outline consists solely of the wire
“ cloisons ” which enclose the various
fields of colour, it must be simplified
to the last degree. How suggestive
NECKLACE in SILVER AND GOLD SET WITH STONES
BY HAROLD STABLER
SILVER CREAM JUGS AND SUGAR-BASINS. DESIGNED AND EXECUTED
BY HAROLD STABLER
37