Details

Object type

presentation quaich

Artist/Maker

Dorothy Carleton Smyth designer

William Armstrong Davidson metalworker

De Courcy Lewthwaite Dewar enamelist

James Reid & Co hallmark

Culture/School

Glasgow School of Art; Celtic Revival

Place Associated

Scotland, Glasgow, Glasgow School of Art (place of manufacture)

Date

1904

Materials

silver, enamel

Dimensions

overall: 70 mm x 490 mm x 490 mm (at widest point)

Description

Large silver presentation quaich designed and made at the Glasgow School of Art. Designed by Dorothy Carlton Smyth, made by William Armstrong Davidson (metalwork) and De Courcy Lewthwaite Dewar (enamel). Shallow circular bowl with two flat lug handles, applied repoussé and chased decoration and an inset enamel roundel in the base.

Hallmarked in 1904, this quaich was made at the time when the School’s Technical Art Studios, in particular its metalwork and needlework departments, were receiving international acclaim for the innovation of design and quality of tuition. The Studio's instructors were all skilled designers and artist craftsmen and craftswomen and all highly regarded practitioners in their fields. The names of those making this piece and that of the Glasgow School of Art are all inscribed into the metal on the object's base in a triangular formation: GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART/ D. CARLETON SMYTHE/DESIGNER/ W. ARMSTONG DAVIDSON/ CRAFTSMAN/ DE C LEWTHWAITE DEWAR/ ENAMELLER; Upper surface just south of right lug: hallmarks for James Reid & Co. (JR), Glasgow, 1904.

The shallow two-handled form of a quaich (pronounced ‘kweichk’), a traditional Scottish drinking cup, has been adapted for the design of this large presentation piece. The applied decoration - entwined ribbons with laurel leaves around the edge and centre base - draws upon the knotted lines of the of Celtic Revival style which gained popularity in the late 1890s. A Gaelic inscription is applied around the upper inside of the bowl: LATHA/ CHI'S NACH/ FHAIC/ NA H’UILE. The centre base of the bowl is inset by a turquoise, green and gold enamel boss bearing the inscription BEA/NNACH/DAN across three lines. ‘Beannachdan’ is Gaelic for ‘Blessing’. ‘The Studio’ magazine of 1905 translates the message as ‘May it go well with you when present or absent’.

'The Studio' article reveals this quaich’s design originates from the commission of a presentation quaich and stand made by the Glasgow School of Art for the Scotch Education Department - the organisation overseeing art education across Britain - to present to its retiring head Sir Henry Craik. Such a prestigious commission gives an indication of the high regard in which the School of Art’s tutors were held. The published commission suggests this example is one of at least two variants of the presentation quaich made, though it is unknown if this version is a preliminary model for the final Craik trophy, or if it was a separately produced version with or without a matching stand.

Those who designed and produced this quaich were a close-knit circle of friends closely associated with the Glasgow School of Art and the Glasgow Style. Smyth, Dewar and the Davidson brothers - William Armstrong Davidson and his older brother Peter Wylie Davidson (who taught metalwork technical instruction at the School) - were all close friends. They worked from adjacent studios at 93 Hope Street in Glasgow’s city centre: making this work not just a product of professional collaboration, but of personal friendship too.

Credit Line/Donor

Purchased with assistance from The Art Fund, the National Fund for Acquisitions administered by the National Museums of Scotland

ID Number

E.2012.11

Location

Kelvingrove CRM and the Glasgow Style