Liberty & Co.
British, founded London, founded 1875Pair of Vases, ca. 1890
Not on view
Pewter and glass
Dimensions5 1/4 × 2 × 1 3/4 in. (13.3 × 5.1 × 4.4 cm)
Gift of Janis and William Wetsman, 2016.24
This was made for Liberty & Company, the London retailer founded by Arthur Lazenby Liberty (1843–1917) in 1875. Although it was the company’s practice to keep the identity of their designers anonymous this was likely designed by Archibald Knox (1864–1933). His designs are raised slightly from the body of the object and are include rounded, elongated, and tapered organic lines typical of Art Nouveau. Art Nouveau artists rejected the inspiration of classical European art and instead looked to nature as well as Japanese, Celtic and folk art for inspiration.
