Aboriginal-inspired Australian Colonial silver desk set

J. M. Wendt, a superb Australian desk set, Colonial silver and…
click the photo to enlarge
J. M. Wendt, a superb Australian desk set, Colonial silver and emu egg decorated with Aboriginal figures, kangaroo, emu and goanna finished gilded highlights, mounted in a rocky form landscape with ferns and leaves, original blackwood plinth base, 19th century, stamped 'J. M. W.' with crown and lion marks, 22 cm high, 22 cm wide, 16 cm deep. Provenance: The Edward Clark collection, Melbourne. Joachim Matthias Wendt was born in Schleswig-Holstein, then part of Denmark, in 1830. He was apprenticed to a watchmaker, also learning the crafts of silversmith and jeweller. In 1848 the province was conquered by Prussia, encouraging Wendt to emigrate to South Australia, where he arrived in 1851. He first opened a shop in Pirie Street, shortly after, moving to a larger shop in Rundle Street. The family business is still carried on there, by descendants. Branches of the business were also established in Mt. Gambier and Broken Hill. Wendt produced a great variety of skilfully created pieces and many outstanding trophies. He was awarded a Royal warrant as jeweller to the visiting Duke of Edinburgh in 1867.

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Blackwood - One of the best known and most widely used Australian timbers, blackwood (acacia melanoxylon), is a member of the Acacia (wattle) family and grows in eastern Australia from about Adelaide in South Australia, as far north as Cairns in Queensland.

    The largest, straightest and tallest trees come from the wet forest and swamps of north-west Tasmania where it is grown commercially.

    Blackwood timber colours range across a wide spectrum, from a very pale honey colour through to a dark chocolate with streaks of red tinge.

    The hardwood timber has been commonly used in the production of furniture, flooring, and musical instruments in Australia from the late 19th century. However, the straight grain timber is not the most prized or valuable, that honour falls to blackwood with a wavy, fiddleback pattern, which is used both in the solid and as a veneer. Fiddleback was only used on the finest examples of furniture.
  • Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.

    For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.

    Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.

This item has been included into following indexes: