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Vase
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Walter Crane was one of the leading figures of the British Arts and Crafts movement. His work helped establish a renewed interest in Renaissance ceramics and the importance of illustration in decorative ceramics. He collaborated with several major manufacturers of decorative furnishings including Maw & Co., an important manufacturer of aesthetic period tiles and other decorative ceramics. This vase is one of a series of vases that Crane designed for Maw around 1889 when they first appear listed in the catalogue of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in London of that year, described along with a series of tiles that Crane also designed for Maw. Its brilliant ruby-red luster surface is a hallmark of Maw’s work featuring Crane’s lyrical designs while referencing earlier 15th- and 16th-century Spanish lusterware.
| Artist / Maker | Walter Crane |
|---|---|
| Date | 1889 |
| Culture / Origin | Britain |
| Medium | Earthenware |
| Dimensions | 22.4 x 22.7 cm (8 13/16 x 8 15/16 in.) |
| Department | Decorative Art and Design |
| Type | Ceramic |
About the Artist
Walter Crane was a prolific designer and painter, but he is best known as a muralist and a children’s book illustrator. Examples of his mural designs can be seen in downtown Cleveland inside the former Society for Savings, now KeyBank. While his incorporation of classical elements diverges from the assertive medievalism of Morris, both men found inspiration in the English garden. As passionate Socialists, they shared a fear of industrialized Britain and endeavored to bring art to all classes Full biography →
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
Condition
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