Members of staff from The Birmingham Assay Office including Curator Craig O’Donnell and Sally Hoban, Heritage and Training Officer, joined Chairman Kate Hartigan at the opening of a new exhibition of the work of Arts and Crafts Movement designer-makers Arthur and Georgie Gaskin on 9^th October. Although they spent most of their working lives in Birmingham, Arthur and Georgie Gaskin were frequent visitors to Chipping Campden. They came to live in the town in 1924, making their home on the High Street. A few years after Arthur’s death in 1928, Georgie moved to Kent where she died in 1934. They are buried together, a stone’s throw from Court Barn Museum, in the churchyard of St James’s Church. The Gaskins produced silver and enamel work, book illustrations and jewellery both independently and in partnership. The main focus of the new exhibition is jewellery and many pieces on show have not been on public display before. The exhibition was officially opened with a speech by Clare Phillips, who is a curator in the Sculpture, Metalwork, Ceramics & Glass Department at the V&A. Clare has written extensively on the history of jewellery and spoke in depth about the Gaskins and their work. She praised the quality, originality and beauty of their jewellery and highlighted the couple’s importance in disseminating the English Arts and Crafts style to an international audience in the early 20^th century. The exhibition has been sponsored by Mallams and The Birmingham Assay Office. It runs until Sunday 24^th November at Court Barn Museum in Chipping Campden.   For opening times and more information visit www.courtbarn.org.uk Michael Allchin, Chief Executive of The Birmingham Assay Office said, “We are delighted to support this exhibition and would encourage everyone to take up this rare opportunity to see such a significant collection of Gaskin work.”

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