Nairn - a rare Scottish provincial luckenbooth brooch
£1,700
Auction: 13 February 2008 at 11:00 GMT
Description
by Daniel Ferguson of Nairn circa 1840, marked DF, NAIRN, of typical conjoined double heart form with stylised 'Inverness' spectacles surmounting, with all over finely engraved detail
Dimensions
7.5cm high, 24g
Footnote
Notes: Little is known about the early career and training of Daniel Ferguson, it appears that originally he trained and traded purely as a watchmaker, and established this business in 1837 aged 23. It is unclear when Ferguson termed himself 'jeweller' but from this point little work is known to survive. The main output of named work are clocks and watches with signed dials and movements. For this reason and the total lack of known marked pieces, one must assume that whilst capable of making items, Ferguson either retailed or did not mark his items. It should also be noted that only a small amount of work is known with his Inverness mark (DF INVss) and an assumption that he only marked a small proportion of his work seems fair.
So far only three examples of items marked by Ferguson in Nairn have been recorded, this brooch, an example more in the classic Inverness style (in the National Museum of Scotland Collection) and another previously unrecorded in a private collection. Other examples are reputed to exist, but so far have not been recorded, no matter the number unrecorded to date these must still be considered amongst the rarest provincial marks in Scotland.
Reference; For detail of this maker, an illustration of this brooch and its marks see 'Highland Gold & Silversmiths' by GP Moss and AD Roe, page 185