William Tolliday: Goldsmith

We are delighted to be offering five works by the celebrated late 20^th century goldsmith William Tolliday in the Fine Jewellery, Watches and Silver Sale on 12^th July. Early in his career, Tolliday worked for the renowned jeweller Andrew Grima (1921-2007) where he was no doubt inspired by the virtuoso technics that were the hallmark of Grima’s work. It was not until the he joined the workshop of Garrard and Co. Ltd, then Crown Jewellers, that the work of Tolliday was to become known in its own merit. Early on at Garrard he produced framed gem-set collages in precious metals which were usually set on canvases, which he was known to have painted himself. The group in the Fine Jewellery, Watches and Silver Sale features four such examples, depicting the Acropolis in Athens, the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, a fantasy Viking ship and a further depiction of a medieval bridge. Each example is signed ‘William Tolliday’ and the first three are further dated ‘69’, which must date them to early in his career with Garrard, and they are being offered with an estimate of £300-500 plus buyer’s premium each.  

It is Tolliday's fairy castles, however, for which he is best known and which he produced during the quarter century he spent in the workshop over Garrards’ showroom in Regent Street. Like the example offered in the July sale, these castles are made of variously formed turrets, usually with castellated battlements and with textured and oxidised silver spires. Often the windows will be set with diamonds and the turrets capped with flags. Each castle rests on a specimen stone base, the shape of which informed the design of the end product. The castle is offered with an estimate of £4,000-6,000 plus buyer’s premium.

Further highlights of the sale made in the late 20^th century include an Elizabeth II Diamond and Enamel-Set Silver-Gilt Casket, produced in 2012 by Richard Jarvis and Ian Calvert and set with an enamel portrait miniature by Gillie Hoyte Byrom; it is number 1 from a limited edition of only 6. The casket was made to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth, and set on the hinged cover is an enamel miniature painted after the 1953 Coronation photograph by ‘Baron’ Stirling Henry Nahum, depicting Her Majesty facing left, her hand resting on a gilt chair back, wearing a pink strapless dress with a blue riband over her left shoulder with the star of the Order of the Garter, a brooch on the shoulder, a diamond diadem, a kokoshnik tiara and chandelier diamond earrings. The miniature sits within a diamond surround, the front of the casket is engraved with a view of Windsor Castle, the sides adorned with diamond-set fixed handles and the dates 1952-2012, and the back engraved with the proclamation. The interior is velvet-lined, and the casket is sold in a fitted gilt-tooled green-leather covered case and offered with an estimate of £3,000-5,000 plus buyer’s premium.