Occasionally, a museum-quality piece crosses our desk, and this week we’re proud to have a most incredible example of Arts and Crafts artistry that we have ever owned. This masterpiece is being offered at the low price of $28,500 (yes, this price is low; please read on). George J. Hunt is one of the more important Boston Arts and Crafts metal masters of the 20th century.
$28,500 / 1920s 18K GOLD ARTS AND CRAFTS FOOTED BOWL
18K GOLD STAMPED BY MASTER G. J. HUNT ENTIRELY HANDWROUGHT
Our initial research indicates that this piece was made for exhibition purposes only, in the 1920s. (We found references in a 1930s magazine to a gold trophy made by Hunt, calling it a “treasure.”) The graceful design, with ornamental knobs on the stem, featured a hand hammered top piece.
$28,500 / 1920s
18K GOLD TROPHY MADE BY MASTER GEORGE J. HUNT
The Society Of Arts and Crafts
It was on exhibit at the Tricentennial Exhibition of the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, and later in Detroit (known as College for Creative Studies). It is made entirely of 18K gold, weighing 24.6 ounces. With gold trading at $1,300 an ounce, you can see the price is barely over the gold value. When researching George Hunt and the Society of Arts and Crafts, you will learn a lot about this movement.
Interestingly, small sterling silver jewelry made by Hunt that has less than $20 worth of silver can sell for several hundred dollars. This piece has so much gold it is impossible to get more than 20 percent over gold value. It is engraved ‘Albert Cameron Burrage,’ and was awarded to Jere A. Downs by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
This is an archival article formerly written and is for informational purposes only. The valuations in this article have likely changed since it was first written.
