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John Houghton Maurice Bonnor (1875-1917), Arts & Crafts Necklace.

Gold Opal Ruby.

H  10.30 cm (4.06 in)  |  W  3.80 cm (1.50 in)  |  L  43.50 cm (17.13 in)

Origin: United Kingdom, circa 1905.

Signed verso: ‘JHMB’ artist’s monogram.

Fitted Case.

Condition: Excellent. No perceivable wear or damage to the gold work.

Black opals from Yowha Queensland with most showing light surface crazing typical of opals of this age over 100 years old.

Weight: 31.20 Grams.

A superb Arts & Crafts gold, opal & ruby necklace by John Bonnor.

We feel this piece can easily hold its place alongside the other great Artificers’ Guild jewels by Edward Spencer, John Paul Cooper & Henry Wilson.

Provenance:

An unsigned design drawing for this necklace is in the Artificers' Guild archive belonging to the Goldsmiths' Company. It differs slightly from the finished necklace but pencil annotations on the sketch show the addition of the rubies and confirm that the opals belonged to the client.

Literature:
cf. Jewelry & Metalwork in the Arts & Crafts Tradition,
Elyse Zorn Karlin, 1993, page 43

British jeweller John Houghton Maurice Bonnor (1875-1917) trained as an architectural draughtsman before being taught by Henry Wilson, with whom he forged a lifelong friendship, at the Central School of Arts and Crafts.

From 1905, he was head of the metal workshop at the Artificers' Guild before setting up his own metalwork, jewellery and stained glass, mosaic and sculpture studio with his wife, Nancy Agar, in 1908.

For further information see "John Houghton Maurice Bonner: A little known designer of the Arts and Crafts Movement", by Muriel Wilson, The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society 1850-the Present, No 28 (2004), pp. 108-125.

Price on application





Stock number

8345
Open by appointment and online

The BADA Standard

  • Since 1918, BADA has been the leading association for the antiques and fine art trade
  • Members are elected for their knowledge, integrity and quality of stock
  • Our clients are protected by BADA’s code of conduct
  • Our dealers’ membership is reviewed and renewed annually
  • Bada.org is a non-profit site: clients deal directly with members and they pay no hidden fees
Click here for more information on the BADA Standard