Louis Osman

Louis Osman was born in Exeter in 1914 and studied drawing at the Slade School of Art and later trained at the Bartlett School of Architecture. In 1935 he won a scholarship which took him to Syria on an expedition for the British Museum. He married Dilys Roberts in 1940 and the couple collaborated in the creation of several objects, with her doing the enamel work. He registered his own mark in 1957 and managed to distinguish himself both as a goldsmith and medallist while continuing his career as an architect. He designed the silver treasury of Lincoln Cathedral but is perhaps best known for being commissioned to make the Welsh crown for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in July 1969. In 1976 he created the gold-enamelled casket for Magna Carta, which was given by the British government to celebrate the Bicentennial, and is now in the Capitol in Washington. His designs were innovative and of their time but outside current trends and he worked only on private commissions throughout his career. Osman often used Britannia silver, which is more malleable. Louis Osman died in 1996.