Cloak clasp

Henry Wilson's jewellery is distinctive for its rich colour combinations worked in stones and enamel, and its sculptural qualities. Like many other Arts and Crafts designers, including C.R. Ashbee, Wilson trained originally as an architect. He became interested in metals in the early 1890s, and went on to teach at the Royal College of Art, publishing a practical manual Silverwork and Jewellery in 1903.

In the preface to the manual he encouraged the student to 'feed his imagination on old work' and his own attraction to historical themes can be seen in this clasp, which features the mythological figure of Cupid as its central motif.