The origins of contemporary goldsmith research can be traced back to the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, at a time when there was an attempt to overcome the gap between minor and major arts, artistically re-evaluating artisanal creation .
At the end of the nineteenth century, isolated voices of free thinkers opposed the debasement of manual creation by the civilization of machines. A bit all over Europe there was a need to relate society and the environment to the world of art in a new way.
The English Arts and Crafts movement , inspired by the writings of William Morris and John Ruskin, believed that the quality of life had been significantly compromised by "the intrusion of the machine into society" ; therefore the only solution was for art to once again become part of everyone's daily experience through the use of manufactured goods.
handcrafted, since «especially those that presented imperfections and irregularities due to the hand or “soul” of the artist», were «far superior, in a moral and aesthetic sense, to the flawless, smooth, soulless objects produced by the machine» .
Those who worked in Arts and Crafts circles personally dedicated themselves to every phase of the production of an artefact, from the conception to the finished product.
At the same time, artists and architects were encouraged to broaden their horizons and exercise their talents in other fields, including jewelry design .
Many artists dedicated themselves to the creation of unique ornaments. The name of a great experimenter is especially remembered: Charles Ashbee (1863-1942), a self-taught architect and goldsmith. In 1888 he officially inaugurated the Guild of Handicraft school , whose aim was to combine innovative design and artisanal expertise.
The jewellery produced in the Arts and Crafts sector shared a predilection for hand-crafted metal surfaces, for cabochon -cut stones in soft colours, for enamels and for "decorative themes referring to a romanticised pre-industrial past" 15 .
It is at this moment that the concept of “art jewellery” was born and contemporary goldsmithing is the “heir and continuator” of the Arts and Crafts culture .
The “rehabilitation” of jewellery had begun, allowing it to rightfully enter the highest spheres of art.
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