99 - A pair of contemporary silver wine coasters.

A pair of contemporary silver wine coasters. Rod Kelly, London, 2019. The high-sided, circular wine coasters chased with leaves to hammered sides and inset with turned wooden bases, each with a circular silver roundel to centre, 8.3cm high, approx. 11.5cm dia. (2) Rod Kelly (b.1956) is one of Britain’s foremost silversmiths, renowned for his mastery of low-relief chasing and the artistry of his vessels. Trained at Glasgow School of Art and the Royal College of Art, Rod is now based in Shetland, where he draws inspiration for his work from the weather and the wild landscapes of the natural world around him. His work is held in numerous public and private collections, including the V&A Museum, the National Museum of Scotland, The Fitzwilliam Museum and the Ashmolean Museum. His numerous commissions include ecclesiastical silver for St Paul’s, York Minster and Lichfield Cathedral, a cup for the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Ascot and a silver and enamel dish for the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Rod Kelly describes himself as ‘meticulous’ and ‘endlessly patient’; attributes that lend themselves to the art of chasing. “Chasing as a technique is very slow”, he explains, “it’s not immediate. A beaker, for example, would take me seven or eight days and I’m very happy with the sort of pace.” These coasters were commission by the vendor and are unusual in that they were designed to function both as coasters, and as decorative vessels. The high sides, intricately chased with foliate motifs, enable them to be displayed as decorative dishes and also to be used as coasters.