Pendant

John Paul Cooper received particular praise at the 1906 Arts and Crafts Exhibition, when the Studio magazine singled out his jewellery for its sculptural qualities and for its originality at a time when other exhibitors' work appeared rather formulaic. The shimmering colours and rounded cabochon-cut stones are typical features of Arts and Crafts jewellery, as are the plain bezels and the hand-worked silver. Cooper's work was often although by no means exclusively figurative, and he favoured spiritual and symbolic subjects. He was fascinated also by the magical and spiritual associations of precious metals and stones. He had trained initially as an architect and worked in the practice of J. D. Sedding, before turning to metalwork and jewellery. By 1906 when this pendant was made, when Cooper was head of the Metalwork Department at the Birmingham Municipal School of Art.