Presidential badge and chain go on display
John Donald working on the President’s badge in the mid-1960s |
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's presidential badge and chain has gone on display at this year's summer exhibition at Goldsmiths' Hall in the City of London. The exhibition, entitled “Precious statements”,
celebrates the work of two master-craftsmen, one of whom, the jeweller
John Donald, designed and made the badge and chain.
John Donald is credited as being one of the key figures who revolutionised
British jewellery from the 1960s and whose work has had a major influence
on the subsequent direction of artist-jewellery in the UK since. He made
the Society’s badge and chain after a decision of the Society’s
Council in 1962 to replace the original president’s chain. The
new badge and chain were presented to the Society by the Wellcome Foundation
Ltd on 11 June 1968.
The chain is made from oval tubes and nugget flakes bearing enamelled
pharmaceutical symbols. The chain’s tubes represent molecular structure,
and are interspersed with “pimpled” circles that reflect
the fruit of the plane trees, present in Bloomsbury Square the site of
the Society’s former London office. The enamelled symbols include
the alchemical flask showing pharmaceutical chemistry, the honeycomb
representing organic structures, the poppy seed representing opium and
the aloe taken from the Society’s coat of arms. The badge is in
Cambridge blue with the Society’s arms in colour. Its “nugget” edges
represent fungi, the basis of a number of early medicines.
Briony Hudson, keeper of the Society’s museum collections, said: “We
are very pleased to have been asked to lend the Presidential badge and
chain as part of this retrospective exhibition of John Donald’s
work. As a ‘working object’, worn by the President
at all official occasions, it will provide an interesting contrast to
the jewellery that will make up most of the exhibition.”
The exhibition runs until 1 July at Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane,
London EC2V 6BN. It is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Admission
is free. Further information is available on the Goldsmiths’ Company
website |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal