Collections Winter 2011 Volume 86 | Page 7

RECENT ACQUISITION Arts and Crafts Charger Morris, combined with his own curiosity, led De Morgan to explore every technical aspect of his craft. He soon rejected the use of blank commercial tiles, preferring to make his own biscuit (unglazed) tiles, which he admired for their irregularities and better resistance to moisture. His inventive streak led him into complex studies of the chemistry of glazes, methods of ?ring, and pattern transfer, which he used to great effect throughout his career. William De Morgan (British, 1839-1917), Charger with Cupid and Pre-Raphaelite Figure, c. 1885, luster-glazed earthenware, 14” dia. Museum purchase with additional funds provided by the Collectors Circle, Ethel S. Brody, Susan B. and C. Carroll Heyward, the Joye Cottage Foundation, Allen and Marcia Montgomery, Michel G. Moore, Ed and Sara-Ellen Ringley, and Walda Wildman. CMA 2010.11 Brian J. Lang Curator of Decorative Arts Through the generosity of the Collectors Circle and a number of its individual members, the Columbia Museum of Art recently acquired this exceptional luster glazed charger by William Frend De Morgan. A life-long friend of William Morris, founder of the British Arts and Crafts Movement, De Morgan designed tiles, stained glass, and furniture for Morris & Co. from 1863 to 1872, and is widely considered to be the founder of the British Art Pottery tradition. Born in Gower Street, London, William De Morgan was supported by his parents in his desire to become an artist. At twenty he entered the Royal Academy schools, but swiftly became disillusioned with the establishment. Then he met Morris, and through him other artists in the preRaphaelite circle. Soon De Morgan began experimenting with stained glass, then ventured into pottery in 1863. By 1872 his interest had shifted wholly to ceramics. In 1872, De Morgan established a pottery studio in Chelsea, where he stayed through 1881—his most fruitful decade as a potter. The arts and crafts ideology he was exposed to through his friendship with De Morgan was particularly drawn to Eastern tiles. Around 1873–1874, he made a striking breakthrough by rediscovering the technique of luster ware (characterized by its re?ective, metallic surface) found in Hispano-Moresque pottery and Italian maiolica. His interest in the East went beyond glazing techniques. As early as 1875, he began to work in earnest with a “Persian” palette and his unmistakable style, in which fantastic creatures entwined with rhythmic geometric motifs ?oat under luminous glazes, was profoundly in?uenced by the motifs he saw in what he referred to as “Persian” ware. The charger acquired by the Museum likely dates from De Morgan’s Fulham period of production—his mature period. It features a pre-Raphaelite design, the original sketch of which is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. While the Columbia Museum of Art has long possessed two signi?cant paintings by De Morgan’s wife, Evelyn De Morgan, it previously did not own any ceramics made by her husband. The acquisition of this charger ?lls a signi?cant gap in the collection and strengthens our modest holdings of decorative arts from the late-19th century British Arts and Crafts Movement. Look for it to go on display soon in the 19th-century European gallery. columbiamuseum.org 5