The object of the day: Caddy spoon by Omar Ramsden

Omar Ramsden caddy spoons were used to measure tea leaves from the caddy to the teapot. This spoon, by Omar Ramsden and Alwyn Charles Ellison Carr, has a planished finish and central red enamelled panel. The price is estimated GBP 1,200 - 1,800. 

The work of Omar Ramsden has become highly desirable in recent years. He produced high-quality re-interpretations of Tudor and Celtic silver, metalwork and jewellery, often featuring hand-hammered finishes, enamels and applied decoration. Ramsden operated a small workshop from 1898 - 1919 in partnership with Alwyn Carr, and went on to register his own mark in 1919.

His workshops produced a large volume of ecclesiastical, civic and corporate work in the Art Nouveau and Art & Crafts styles. He produced numerous presentation pieces and private commissions. His works often have the engraved inscription 'Omar Ramsden Me Fecit' ('Omar Ramsden made me').

Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles

The graceful sensuality of Art Nouveau lasted a mere 20 years between the 1890s and the outbreak of the First World War. After the guns fell silent in 1918, the seeds of modernism, sown before the war, able to take root and flourish. The style of the 1920s and 30s became known as Art Deco, an abbrevation of L'Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes (The Paris Exhibition), which took place in 1925. Both were reactionary movements, Art Nouveau against the staid traditionalism and revivalism of the late 19th century and Art Deco against the curvaceous excesses of Art Nouveau. The former was probably the last great decadent style and the latter the first trumpet call of the truly modern age.



Whereas Art Nouveau took organic forms and used the writhing, sinuous shapes of plants, flowers, insects and birds as its inspiration, the straight, stepped, soaring lines and geometric shapes of Art Deco mirrored the exciting post-war developments in technology and mass production techniques. Art Nouveau designers worked with wood, glass and clay, as had their predecessors, but their counterparts of the 1920s and 30s took advantage of the new materials such as tubular steel, plate glass, concrete, plywood and even plastics.

The object of the day: French Art Nouveau ceramic vase

A French Art Nouveau ceramic vase by A. Debain, featuring a muted blue, red and yellow glaze, seated in a silver holder.

Artist:

French silversmith Alphonse Debain (1883-1911)

Circa: 1900

Dimensions: 9 1/2 inch high

Designer: Omar Ramsden

Omar Ramsden (1873-1939)

English silversmith born in Sheffield. He spent some years in Illinois, USA, before being apprenticed to a firm of silversmiths back in Sheffield. In 1890 he attended evening classes at the Sheffield School of Art where he met Alwyn Charles Elison Carr and then both had summer classes at the Royal College of Art. Ramsden specialised in the design of silver and gold presentation and ceremonial pieces, including plates, wine cups and masers.

His design is associated with Art Nouveau.

They set up a studio together in Chelsea in 1898 and shortly after moved the workshop to Fulham. Ramsden had the public relations flair while Carr provided the financial backing. The partnership was dissolved in 1919. Ramsden had up to 20 assistants working for him during the 1930's but he never worked on a piece himself.