In 1770 was published in London by T. D. Saint _A new book of designs
for jewellers' work_ containing eleven plates of ornaments of various
kinds in the style of Pouget and Duflos. One of the last English
jewellers of the old school was George Michael Moser (1707-1783), one of
the founders of the Academy--like Fuseli, a Swiss by birth, and a native
of Schaffhausen. He was originally a gold chaser--"the first in the
kingdom," so Sir Joshua Reynolds described him; but when that mode of
decorating jewellery was put aside in favour of enamels, he turned his
attention to enamel compositions of emblematical figures, much in vogue
for the costly watch-cases of the day, for chatelaines, necklaces,
bracelets, and other personal ornaments. He succeeded so well in this
class of work that the Queen patronised him, and he executed a
considerable number of commissions for the King.
Another eminent jeweller, who was likewise a painter and enameller, was
Augustus Toussaint. He worked principally with his father, a noted
jeweller of Denmark Street, Soho, and exhibited at the Royal Academy
from 1775 to 1778, sending in both miniatures and enamels. He died
between 1790 and 1800. Several of the fine open-work jewelled frames
which held the choice miniatures of the day, were made in the workshop
of Toussaint the elder, and on his death his son Augustus is said not
only to have retained for his own use all the examples of these frames
which were in stock, but to have continued to supply a few
fellow-artists, with whom he was on terms of intimacy, with the
celebrated Toussaint frames.[186]
[186] Examples of these jewelled frames are preserved in Mr.
Pierpont Morgan's collection of miniatures. For the information
respecting them I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Williamson,
author of the catalogue of that collection.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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