Napkin Holders Set comprises six napkin holders in sterling silver designed specifically for the exhibition ‘Fit for Purpose’ and bears the unique hallmarks for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year. De Quin exhibited the object within a group show of contemporary silverwork by members of Contemporary British Silversmiths. De Quin’s piece represents her response to the exhibition title ‘Fit for Purpose’. The exhibition was displayed within the V&A’s Silver Galleries and was timed to coincide with the V&A’s major exhibition ‘British Design 1948 to 2012: Innovation in the Modern Age’ (2012). ‘Fit For Purpose’ was designed to function as a complementary display.
The object captures de Quin’s interest in exploring the traditional technique of chasing within the context of a design that considers the demands of functional tableware for contemporary dining. De Quin first used this technique in a one-off work, Tall and Small, in which decorative elements in non-precious metal are used as a passive device for considering the scale, proportion and orientation of two precious-metal vessels. The elements take the form of single curved walls, contrasting with the more complex form of the two containers. Napkin Holders Set uses chasing as both decorative and functional form. Containment offers an opening that requires the fit of a folded napkin to complete it within a table setting. Napkin Holders Set is given added dimension through the use of a hardwood stand which considers the practice of storage and offers additional opportunity for display when the pieces are not in use.
This research extends the formal experiments of Enclosure (de Quin REF Output 3), bringing contemporary innovation to the more traditional silverware design of the V&A displays and collection.
An exhibition catalogue, ‘Fit for Purpose: a practical & conceptual exploration of silver’, was published by Contemporary British Silversmiths (2012).