Lot Essay
Another very similar bowl, described as a bread boat was exhibited in Omar Ramsden 1873-1939 Centenary Exhibition of Silver, no. 70 and is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue.
Leslie Durbin, who worked with Ramsden before becoming a successful silversmith in his own right, described how Omar Ramsden would personally treat the wood used in bowls, such as the present example, as well as the wood for the mazer bowls for which Ramsden is perhaps best known. When the wood was returned to the shop after having been turned by Rogers and Co. the wood would be charred, inside and out, with a gas flame jet. While still hot Ramsden would rub beeswax into the surface and only once the bowls had cooled would Ramsden trust them to be handled by anyone else, turning them over to a workman to be polished. (E. Turner and L. S. Roberts, English Silver, Masterpieces by Omar Ramsden From the Campbell Collection, New York, 1992, p. 56).
Leslie Durbin, who worked with Ramsden before becoming a successful silversmith in his own right, described how Omar Ramsden would personally treat the wood used in bowls, such as the present example, as well as the wood for the mazer bowls for which Ramsden is perhaps best known. When the wood was returned to the shop after having been turned by Rogers and Co. the wood would be charred, inside and out, with a gas flame jet. While still hot Ramsden would rub beeswax into the surface and only once the bowls had cooled would Ramsden trust them to be handled by anyone else, turning them over to a workman to be polished. (E. Turner and L. S. Roberts, English Silver, Masterpieces by Omar Ramsden From the Campbell Collection, New York, 1992, p. 56).