A collection of ten silver and gold plated Christmas carol-themed surprise gifts from Stuart Devlin. Each of them is numbered 192 out of 500 pieces, which is a rarity.
Surprise Egg by Stuart Devlin
Stuart Devlin (1931 2018) was born in Australia. There he began his working career as an art teacher. But he was attracted to jewelry and in 1957 he received a diploma of an artist in the field of gold and silversmithing. Devlin received a prestigious scholarship in 1958 and spent the next two years as an intern at Columbia University, New York. Stuart Devlin became famous in 1964 when he won a competition to design Australia’s first decimal coin. Let me remind you that until 1966 the Australian pound consisted of 20 shillings, and each shilling consisted of 12 pence.
In 1965 Devlin moved to London and opened a small workshop. Thus began his long career as a goldsmith, during which he created many beautiful jewelry creations, among which the most popular were Easter eggs and Christmas gifts, which are now collectibles. Eggs from Sewart Devlin can be divided into two groups: rare single copies (we will see them in this publication) and limited edition eggs (we will see them in the next article).
Good King Wenceslas, London, 1971 Surprise – a figurine of King Wenceslas (Wenceslas), looking at the firewood at his feet.God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, London 1972. A cylindrical lid with a bark texture and an attached holly sprig reveals two figures under a lamppost.Christmas is coming, London, 1973. Surprise – a figurine of a gentleman with a goose under his arm, holding a cylinder in his other hand.Hark the Herald Angels Sing, London, 1974. Surprise figure of an angel with a trumpet.Holly and Ivy, London 1975, Surprise – a figurine of a man in a top hat, holding a sprig of holly and ivy in each hand.Three Kings of Orient, London, 1976 Surprise – figurines of three gilded kings under a green enameled palm tree.Ding Dong Merrily on High, London 1978. Surprise – a scene with passers-by, a Christmas tree and a bell tower.While Shepherds Watched, London 1979 Surprise – a figurine of the angel Gabriel, who appeared to four sitting shepherds.Away in a Manger, London, 1980 Surprise figures of Mary and Joseph watching Jesus in the manger.A collection of six silver and gold plated Christmas themed surprise gifts in the shape of an egg by Stuart Devlin, 6.4 cm high, 1983-1988.Collection of six silver and gold Christmas tree ornaments by Stuart Devlin, 1981-1988.Each Christmas tree toy contains inside a funny or sentimental Christmas scene, decorated with enamel, the height of the largest is 10 cm.A collection of three silver and gold-plated Stuart Devlin Christmas tree decorations in the form of a ball, Christmas cake and candy, 1982-1985.
Surprise Egg by Stuart Devlin
All eggs are individually textured. Surprises: a marlin jumping out of the water, an anchor on the seabed with fish swimming past, a church with trees, a putti aiming from a bow among thistle flowers, a Christmas angel. The eggs from this collection give an idea of the compositions produced in limited editions. Each copy of this edition had its own number.
Openwork silver gilded egg, height 7.5 cm. Surprise – a crystal brush of dioptase a in a nest of gilded wire. Stuart Devlin, London 1969Openwork silver gilded egg, height 6.8 cm. Surprise – raw dioptase crystal. Stuart Devlin, London 1970Silver gilded sphere. Surprise – a composition of amethyst crystals and golden flowers with long stamens, among which sits a golden frog. Stuart Devlin, London 1974Openwork silver gilded egg. The surprise is a raw emerald crystal in a gold-plated wire nest. Stuart Devlin, London 1969Openwork golden egg with a surprise pendant. Surprise – a removable amethyst pendant in the shape of a pillow in a setting of two-tone gold. Stuart Devlin, London 1972Openwork silver egg with gilding and patination, decorated with enamel. Surprise – bird on an openwork grid of polychrome enameled flower heads. Stuart Devlin, London 1984A pair of silver gilded Easter eggs with a surprise. The first contains an amethyst crystal, the second contains five flowers made of silver with enamel, 1967.Silver gilded egg with an amethyst crystal surprise held in place by a lattice of wire branches, 1970.Openwork silver gilded surprise sphere, decorated with gilding, patina and enamel. Surprise egg – a bouquet of flowers in gilded silver with enamel, diameter 7.4 cm, 1978.Openwork silver gilt Easter egg that belonged to Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. Egg Surprise – a nest with three rose quartz eggs, height 7.4 cm, 1972.Openwork egg with a surprise in the form of a large opal, mounted on a polished quartz crystal. Mounted in an openwork filigree mesh, height 7.4 cm, 1975.Openwork gilded silver egg with an amethyst druze surprise set on a patinated surface imitating rock, height 7 cm, 1969.Openwork golden egg with a surprise large fancy-cut citrine supported by curved tourmaline-studded stamens, 9 cm high, 1970.Egg adorned with diamonds, height 6 cm. Surprise – a butterfly adorned with diamonds and rubies among gold leaves and reeds made of beaded pearls. London 1979Butterfly and bee egg decorated with onyx and diamonds, height 7 cm, 1988.Collection of silver eggs, up to 7 cm high. London, 1977-1986.
