Exquisite Enamels from Turbulent Times

13 February 2025

Earlier this month marked 107 years since the Representation of the People Act,

The first act of Parliament to grant women the right to vote (albeit those over the age of 30).

Lot 441 in our recent Design Auction was a fine enamel panel titled 'Possible Worlds' (c.1910-20) by artist, writer and suffragette, Ernestine Mills (1871-1959). It sold for over £12,000 including fees.

It is presented in its original gilt wood and gesso frame, the title inscribed along the lower edge

When paired with the figure of the pensive, seated angel, and viewed against the backdrop of her life and work, it is difficult not to draw in some contemporary political frustrations.

As an artist particularly skilled in metalwork and enamels, she is well known for her jewellery, much of which was political in tone.

She joined Emmeline Pankhurst's WSPU in 1907, and the Women's Fabian Group in 1909, becoming an active member of both.

Indeed, she is often identified as the suffragette on the ground in this now iconic image from the 1910 'Black Friday' demonstration.