Australiana - Josef Lebovic Gallery

110. Australian Arts And Crafts Jewellery, c1910s-1930s. Twenty-three items of
silver jewellery consisting of: 2 pendants, 1 bracelet, 11 rings, 4 pairs of earrings and
5 brooches featuring semi-precious stones including 2 opals, 1 pendant with maker’s
mark “Wager”, some items stamped “925”, sizes from 1.1 x 1.9 x 2.3cm to 25 x 2.5 x
0.7cm.
The collection $6,600
The collection includes one pendant with chain by Rhoda Wager (Brit./Aust., 1875-1953). Other
items in the collection are reminiscent of Rhoda Wager’s style. British-born, Wager is known for her intricately wrought
jewellery, soldered together piece by piece, and often incorporating gum leaves and other Australian motifs. She created
about 12,000 pieces of jewellery over 25 years, exhibiting with the Society of Arts and Crafts in Sydney, Melbourne and
Brisbane, and selling in major department stores and her own Sydney studio. Ref: ADB.
111. Aust ralian WWI
Jewellery, c1914-1918.
Four items of gold jewellery
con sisting of a Kewpie
Doll pen dant and brooch,
a regimental colour patch
ring and brooch, some
stamped 9ct, sizes from
1 x 1.7 x 1.8cm to 3 x 2.1 x
0.7cm.
The group $1,650
The unit colour patch on the
brooch belongs to the 1st Regiment, Royal Australian
Artillery, and the ring bears
the patch of the 3rd Division,
11th Infantry Brigade, 41st to
43rd Brigade.
Kewpie dolls were a common
gift at fairground, souvenir
and jewellery shops to the
loved ones of servicemen
during WWI. Their name,
often shortened to “Kewpies”,
is derived from “cupid”.
Kewpie dolls and figurines
are based on illustrations by
Rose O’Neill that appeared
in Ladies’ Home Journal in
1909. Ref: Wiki.
Provenance: hoard of
jewellery found under the
floorboards of a house in
Queensland, wrapped in
newspapers dating from
1918; thence purchased at
auction in the 1980s from
Geoff K. Gray Auctions.
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