A William Hutton arts and crafts modernist silver belt and buckle
You cannot better a good artistic, scupltural, arts and crafts silver buckle and for sale is this really astounding, indeed confounding, silver belt and buckle fully assayed for William Hutton & Sons. It is made of a heavy gauge of beaten sheet silver and, unlike much of Hutton’s commercial work, is very much hand made. The links are each augmented with what is clearly a Kate Harris flower motif with blue enamel. The buckle itself has two inset pieces of rectangular blister pearls to each half, as seen on other Kate Harris pieces. I am not attributing the entire piece to Kate Harris simply becasue the geometric hammered design of the silver is unlike her normal style. I can only assume this is a collaborative piece.
The overall effect is to produce a belt and buckle that is clearly arts and crafts in design but which also, given the symetry and geometry of the piece, is very modern. I love it!
Price: £1,950
Maker: William Hutton & Sons
Designer: Kate Harris (in part)
Date: 1902
Marks: WH&Sns, London, “g”
Material: Sterling silver, enamel
Condition: Excellent, some tiny losses to some enamels
Size: 60 cm long
Weight: 4.7 oz, 132 grams
Additional Information
Kate Harris was employed the London studio of William Hutton & Sons to produce artistic silver from 1899 to c 1905. Her work is often hallmarked for Goldsmiths and Silversmiths who were retailers as well as manufacturers. See Dr Stephen Pudney’s articles on Kate Harris in the Decorative Arts Society Journal Vol 22 “A marriage of art and commerce: Kate Harris and the arts and crafts silverware of William Hutton & Sons” and 2015 Volume 39 “The mystery woman of English art nouveau”.
| Period | Art nouveau, Arts and crafts |
|---|