Lately I've been researching a little bit of design and artistic movements, and one of my favourites is the arts and crafts period. This Guy, Archibald Knox made amazing pieces and here is one of them, designed for Liberty & co department store with one of his brands, Tudric, in Pewter.
But many others in that period hadn't have the same fortune. Brands like Osiris went bankrupt after a short period of trading and his owner committed suicide. Others ended up being absorbed by the giant WMF in Germany. And they also had amazing designs and same quality, but sometimes this is not enough. As in many other circumstances in life, blessings from the Fortune goddess make the difference. But this is another History...
Today is Archibald Knox Chapter and his well deserved success.
This elegant pewter tea and coffee set, decorated with a Celtic-inspired interlace pattern, was designed in 1903 by Archibald Knox (1864–1933), and was sold by the famous London department store Liberty & Co. Originally a pupil, and subsequently a teacher, at the School of Art in Douglas, Isle of Man, Knox designed for Liberty & Co. between the late 1890s and around 1909, partly while teaching at Kingston School of Art. He later returned to Douglas in order to teach and remained on the Isle of Man for the rest of his life.
Knox was a product of the Arts and Crafts movement, which not only championed the revival of lost ‘skills’, but also encouraged the strengthening of national identity. Living on the Isle of Man, Knox was well acquainted with the Celtic revival taking place in Ireland during the second half of 19th century. He visited Dublin in the 1890s to study archaeological discoveries such as the Ogham brooch, as well as the Book of Kells. The Isle of Man experienced a similar revival. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, various societies were established to preserve the documentation of Celtic art on the island, the famous Manx stone crosses (covered in interlaced patterns) were documented, and efforts were made to preserve Manx Gaelic as a spoken language. It is impossible to know how important Knox felt these causes to be, but he was certainly influenced by Celtic art, both from Ireland and the Isle of Man. His designs were not copied directly from original Celtic art, but were a reinterpretation of Celtic motifs and designs, which he had been perfecting since childhood.
Knox’s designs were unique in that they combined Celtic interlace with an interpretation of the Art Nouveau ‘whiplash’ pattern, which had proved so popular in continental Europe. Knox was one of the few British designers to incorporate Art Nouveau into his designs, and was the main reason that Liberty & Co. goods sold successfully across Europe, as well as in Britain.
Although Knox produced the designs, the pewter wares were produced on an industrial scale by W H Haseler Ltd, jewellers and silversmiths of Birmingham, and retailed by Liberty & Co. in London. The store introduced a range of silver jewellery and plate made to Knox’s designs in 1899, naming it ‘Cymric’, followed by a pewter range in 1900, called ‘Tudric’, of which this coffee set is a part. These Gaelic-sounding (but meaningless) names were invented by Liberty & Co. as part of their advertising campaign, emphasising the ‘Celtic’ nature of Knox’s work and appealing to long-held Arts and Crafts notions of national heritage.
original information at: http://britishmuseum.tumblr.com/post/126336219342/tea-and-coffee-set-designed-by-archibald-knox-for
More information about collections and available items on sale in: movilla-jewellery.moonfruit.com
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