Jocelyn Burton
A Romantic view of Silver
By Gordon Hamme
Gordon Hamme spoke to Jocelyn Burton at her London Studio
I bumped into Jocelyn Burton at a private view in Knightsbridge at the furniture dealer's Norman Adams, opposite Harrods. The idea of the exhibition was to show that modern silverware sits well with antique furniture. In my opinion, mostly it didn't. Modern silverware is generally simple and geometric, quite different to the curves and swags of 18th and 19th century furniture. But in amongst the modern pieces was a tea-set designed by Jocelyn Burton, curvaceous forms with superb applied cast pieces. ‘A case apart', as Jocelyn later put it to me.
Interviewing Jocelyn was always going to be a challenge. I had never spoken to her before but had seen her some years before and had been intimidated by a larger than life figure holding court in a wine bar in Clerkenwell in a cloud of billowing cigarette smoke. She has since given up, entertaining fellow jewellers and silversmiths with her stories. I've always imagined her to be centre stage in any situation, and so it is with her wonderful, larger than life work.
Taking the chronological formula for the interview was never going to work so we just launched in to Jocelyn's opinion of fellow silversmiths and the tortuous forms, in her view, which some of them forced the metal into, to achieve.......relatively little.
She spoke of her time teaching at the Royal College of Art and the current requirement made by art schools that students explain and identify the origin of any idea they might have (some ideas spring unbidden from the subconscious). Jocelyn found this point of view laughable. ‘I am driven by my enthusiasm for beautiful things. If an idea is good and strong it is not necessary to justify it intellectually'.
Jocelyn began her jewellery and silversmithing career at Sir John Cass in the City of London. Women were not allowed to enrol for full time silversmithing courses and so she enrolled for jewellery courses by day and silversmithing by night. There were only nine students on her day course so there was much lee way and an interconnecting door to the silversmithing department.
Jocelyn's great strength are her superb painting and renderings of future designs. As a self-taught painter Jocelyn realised that customers did not want to spend significant amounts unless they had seen exactly what they were going to buy.
Her first break came soon after leaving college winning the De Beers Diamond Award. Soon after that she went into business partnership producing 18ct gold jewellery mainly selling to Charles De Temple in London's West End. She soon discovered that she had the raw end of the business deal and vowed never to go into a partnership again.
During this time Sydney Rogers, the managing director of Watches of Switzerland, had seen the 18ct jewellery and started purchasing too.
He was responsive to Jocelyn's desire to develop her silver skills and created the Jean Renet Boutique at No.1 Old Bond Street as a showcase. In 1973 a multi-millionaire who had made his money in cinemas opened a new shop in Jermyn Street for Charles de Temple's jewellery and Jocelyn's silver. Other important commissions followed including a serving dish for Goldsmiths' Hall enamelled by Alan Mudd and later a set of medals for Chichester Cathedral. The Fishmongers' Company commissioned a set of 4 feet tall sconces in silver weighing over 20 kilos.
In 1975 Jocelyn was commissioned by Rustenburg, the owners of the South African platinum mines to make a platinum goblet to commemorate the introduction of the platinum hallmark. It was hallmarked publicly in the Livery Hall of the Goldsmiths' Company in front of a large audience. Jocelyn explained, ‘I have tried to show off the strength and flexibility of the metal in the whippy looking organic strapwork of the stem and, I hope, enhanced the natural greyness of platinum by the addition of South African Aquamarines.
Jocelyn made four silver gilt wall sconces for Lord Faringdon in 1993 as leaving presents for the two retiring directors of Cazenove. They both had trophies combining all the interests of the recipients. One was to do with gardening and horticulture and the other with shooting and farming. Jocelyn then went on to make a pair of silver gilt fruit lids for a pair of Robert Garrard oval bowls in 1997. The idea was that the bowls should look to be overflowing with fruit.
Prince Phillip awarded Jocelyn the City & Guilds Prince Phillip Gold Medal in 2004 for achievements in Silversmithing. Jocelyn commented: “I am the first woman ever to win it.” In 1998 she had made a pair of silver mustard pots for Prince Phillip which he gave to the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. Each mustard pot was held up on three heraldic dolphin feet and surmounted by a silver gilt octopus finial- the body of which was a baroque pearl.
The Jerwood necklace was commissioned by its Chairman Alan Grieve to use a magnificent string of pearls and various stones including a large star sapphire. It has frosted rock crystal and carved black onyx pendants at front and back and the pearls are interspersed with spacers of carved mother of pearl.
In 1996 Jocelyn received a very large commission to design and make chandeliers for a company in Kuwait. She felt that this was the start of a great deal more work from the Middle East. Despite her persistence and following through on that sale no more work has come from there. Jocelyn has however completed a set of four gigantic lamps for a building in Canada which, under great pressure, she designed over a weekend and then delivered in 8 weeks.
With her training and self taught skills Jocelyn is a remarkable architectural, silver and jewellery designer. Her workshop manages prototyping, carving, chasing, silversmithing and jewellery making with Jocelyn at the centre of the web. I asked about the future, ‘We have, amongst other things, designs for goblets, beakers, brush-sets and cutlery going back to when I first started. If we haven't got something we can design and make it.'
Many of Jocelyns' designs are in the classical style which she feels could be aimed at the ‘New Russian' market. Jocelyn has many plans for her company and still has the energy and courage to carry them out.
Contact: Tel: 0207 405 3042
jocelynburton@hotmail.com
www.jocelynburton.co.uk
