Set of Six Silver Sea Creature Napkin Rings for Liberty & Co.

#18274: Set of Six Silver Sea Creature Napkin Rings for Liberty & Co.
Parker-Eaton, Sarah (British, active from 1980s)
English, hallmarked London 1993
Height 3cm, width 6cm, depth 5cm

This set of six napkin rings is made in sterling silver and was designed by the British silversmith Sarah Parker-Eaton for Liberty & Co. Each broad band is individually conceived as a stylised marine creature, no two of the six alike.
The creatures are reduced to geometric forms, their fins, tails, claws and tentacle-like projections constructed from cut and applied silver. Serrated edges, incised detailing, applied spherical elements and sharply folded planes give the designs a sculptural quality, consistent with Parker-Eaton's interest in marine life and her approach to contemporary silver.
Parker-Eaton studied 3D Design at Northumbria University, graduating in 1988, and marine organisms became a recurring source for her work. Her output of the 1990s includes numerous stylised fish, crustaceans and other sea creatures, a vocabulary she developed further in her later Plankton designs.
The set was produced for Liberty & Co., whose commitment to progressive British design made the firm an outlet for contemporary silversmiths and jewellers. Three of the rings bear Parker-Eaton's maker's mark 'SPE' and the remaining three the 'Ly & Co' sponsor's mark of Liberty & Co. All six are hallmarked for London, 1993.
$3,750