§ FRED RICH (BRITISH 1954-)

FRED RICH (BRITISH 1954-)
'THE MEADOWS VASE', 1997
signed Fred Rich 97, 18ct gold with silver gilt and cloisonné enamel with 22ct cloisonne, with box
17.1cm high, 10.7cm diameter (6 ¾in high, 4 ¼in diameter)
Provenance:The Gordon Hamme Collection.
Literature:Davis, John and Gordon Hamme. Contemporary British Silver Designers: The Lion & Hamme Collections. ACC Art Books: Suffolk, 2022, p. 249, fig. 488, illustrated.I’m a really insecure, confident person. But yes, I think you have to be confident to even attempt half of the things that I attempt because you have a big belief in yourself. Because sometimes there’s so much risk in the kiln that things happen, hours and hours at the bench. But you still do get a real joy from what you do. – Fred Rich in conversation with Gordon Hamme. Davis, John and Gordon Hamme. Contemporary British Silver Designers: The Lion & Hamme Collections. ACC Art Books: Suffolk, 2022, p. 219.The name Fred Rich has become synonymous with the fine craft of contemporary British silver as one of the leading designers of the moment, particularly in the area of art enamelling. Rich studied at the Central School of Art and Design in London before continuing his studies at the Sir John Cass School of Art in enamelling. It was during this time that his experimentations with bold colours and enamel emerged and would later become his trademark. During the 1980s, Rich received numerous accolades and important commissions, beginning with The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths acquiring the enamelled vase for which he won another award in 1982. In 1983, he started exhibiting at the Goldsmiths Fair, primarily displaying jewellery and small pieces of silver. In 1984, De Beers purchased one of his necklaces for the winning trainer of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. Commissions arrived from the British Museum, De Beers, Lambeth Palace and the World Gold Council. This vase is important in that it was his first piece to employ 18ct gold as the base. It depicts an abundance of vivid flowers and butterflies in flight, with each flower represented originating from the garden of the commissioner. The vase is elegantly fitted with a silver gilt foot that elevates and enlivens the naturalistic composition to the vase’s band. Rich’s use of relief carving gives the enamel definition and vitality, and he regards this as the ‘brush strokes in a painting’ in his work, which is immediately apparent with this piece.