A Silver and Quartz Model of a Bonsai Tree

#18391: A Silver and Quartz Model of a Bonsai Tree
English, London, 1972
Height 34cm, width 22cm, depth 18cm
This miniature model of a bonsai tree is worked in silver and set with hardstones. The modelled stem divides into stylised, scrolling branches resembling tendrils. Each branch is applied with clusters of quartz that simulate prunus blossom, so that the canopy takes the form of a flowering plum. A few cabochon hardstone fruits hang among the branches in applied cups, one purple and one green.
The stem and branches rise from an outcrop of rough lapis lazuli and crystalline quartz. This is set on a shaped silver base raised on six bracket feet. Each quartz blossom is wired individually to its branch and arranged into a full, rounded head. The stem and base are cast and chased to imitate bark, root and rock.
The tree is fully hallmarked, with marks struck on both the stem and the base: the maker's mark FB, the lion passant for sterling silver, the leopard's head for London and the date letter for 1972.
Model trees of this kind belong to a long tradition of precious trees made for the cabinet and the table. The tradition runs from the carved hardstone trees of China and Japan to the flower studies of Fabergé. Twentieth-century silversmiths took it up again, combining worked precious metal with natural mineral specimens. These pieces were made for display rather than use.
$37,500