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
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