Metalware
Margaret Gilmour mirror. Image courtesy of Lyon and Tumbull Fine Art Auctoineers.
Most Glasgow Style hand-beaten metal work was produced by women, often in studios across the city, in brass, copper and white metal. Many items produced by the studios were for domestic use, sold commercially, often as wedding gifts. As studios also ran classes, pieces may have been made by amateurs. Glasgow Style metalware comes up regularly at auction, often unsigned and featuring the usual range of motifs. All of the key designers worked in metal.
In fact, metalware is the most common medium for objects referenced as Glasgow Style, providing quantity, with a high volume of antique objects available, as well as quality, with many objects displaying high levels of workmanship and aesthetic appeal. Pieces tend to be made by hand, usually by the designers themselves.
Glasgow Style motifs adopted include hearts, peacocks, butterflies, enamel and cabochon inlays. Most are unsigned, by unknown designers. Although many pieces are by or attributed to Margaret Gilmour. Celtic motifs are common in her objects.
Metalware of this type tends to be termed Glasgow Style within Scotland. Outside Scotland, only a few auction houses / dealers apply this term to objects of this type and style.