Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Brothers William and Charles Brown, Gem-workers

Charles and William Brown
Cameo
Venus Anadyomene

ca. 1770-1800
jasper
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

"This tiny work, signed ‘Brown’, is beautifully cut from three strata of jasper. The dark green top layer has been partially removed to reveal the figure of Venus carved into the whitish middle layer, outlined against the dark green base. Traces of green have been retained to color the hair of Venus, the dolphin and the waves."

"The art of engraving gemstones can be traced back to ancient Greece in the 8th century BC and earlier. Techniques passed down to the Egyptians and then to the Romans. There were major revivals of interest in engraved gems in Europe during the Byzantine era, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and again in the 18th and 19th centuries. At each stage cameos and intaglios, these skillful carvings on a minute scale, were much prized and collected, sometimes as symbols of power mounted in jeweled settings, sometimes as small objects for private devotion or enjoyment. This cameo is signed 'Brown', which means it was made by one or other, or both, of the engravers William and Charles Brown. Scant details are available of the early background or training for the brothers William (b. 1748; d. London 1825) and Charles (b. 1749; d. 1795) Brown. From 1766 until 1770 William exhibited at the Society of Arts, and from 1770 to 1785 both brothers exhibited annually at the Royal Academy. William was the more prolific of the two, producing gems with classical themes, and contemporary portraits; Charles showed fewer gems and favored animal subjects. From 1786 until the death of Charles in 1795 the brothers ceased to exhibit, as the first of numerous commissions for their work were received from the court of Catherine II, Empress of Russia. Ultimately perhaps half of their total output - 200 cameos and intaglios - were sent from the Brown’s London workshop to this great collection, and these remain together in the Hermitage, St Petersburg."

 curator's notes, Victoria & Albert Museum 

Below, some of the gems sent to Saint Petersburg by the Browns for the collection of Catherine the Great 


Charles and William Brown
Intaglio
Prosperity and Love of Peace of Catherine II

1790
citrine
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Charles and William Brown
Cameo
Catherine II instructing her Grandsons

1789-91
agate
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Charles and William Brown
Cameo
Allegory of Russia's victory over Turkey

1790-91
agate
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Charles Brown
Cameo
Allegory of Russia's victory over the Turkish fleet

1790
agate
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

William Brown
Intaglio
Monument to Peter the Great
by Etienne-Maurice Falconet

ca. 1782
rock crystal
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Charles and William Brown
Cameo
Catherine II crowning Prince Potemkin with laurels
1790
sardonyx
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Charles and William Brown
Cameo
Memorial on the death of Prince Potemkin
1791-92
onyx
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Charles and William Brown
Intaglio
Allegory of Marriage
1793
carnelian
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Charles and William Brown
Intaglio
Death of Socrates
ca. 1791
chalcedony
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

William Brown
Intaglio
Caius Martius Coriolanus at Minturna
ca. 1796
carnelian
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

William Brown
Intaglio
Abduction of Europa
ca. 1783
carnelian
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Charles Brown
Intaglio
Mars and Bellona
ca. 1784
carnelian
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Trade-card
Willm. & Chas. Brown, Seal Engravers, Pall Mall
1781
British Museum