by Copper Catcher » Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:44 pm
Hallmarked in London 1987, and made by Gerald Benney, the much collected and renowned contemporary silversmith, a solid silver ingot paperweight with textured sides, in Benney's familiar style of decoration.
Very heavy in weight at 255 grams, or over 8 troy ounces of silver. Size is 4 inches long by 5/8 inches high and 5/8 inches deep.
Hallmarks and makers mark are crisp and deep, and it is in very good condition. It is also marked OAP 10 on one side.
Gerald Benney was born in 1930 at Hull, Yorkshire and spent most of his early life in Brighton. He trained at Brighton Art College and then at the Royal College of Art. He had workships in London, Reading, and Wiltshire.
In 1974 he was granted a Royal Warrant by HM The Queen as goldsmith and silversmith.Further Royal Warrants followed in 1975 from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HM The Queen Mother and in 1980 from HRH The Prince of Wales. His commissions have been from a wide range of patrons - private, ecclesiastical and commercial. He has made pieces for presentation by HM Government, for Oxford and Cambridge Colleges, churches including Coventry, St Paul's and Lichfield Cathedrals. Gerald Benney's work can be seen in many collections such as HM The Queen, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Crafts Council and the Goldsmiths' Company.
Gerald Benney is a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths' Company and Royal Designer to Industry. He also holds many consultancies and appointments both in the United Kingdom and abroad and was Royal Professor to the Royal College of Art. He is a Freeman of the City of London and of the Borough of Reading and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art. In 1993, together with his son Simon, he opened a shop in London. He is also adviser to The Silver Trust. He was awarded a CBE in 1995.
