Decanter
Charles Robert Ashbee
(English, 1863–1942)
Guild of Handicraft Ltd.
(English, active 1888–1908)
1903
Medium/TechniqueSilver, glass, chrysoprase, cork
DimensionsH. 20 cm (7 7/8 in.); W.16.8 cm (6 5/8 in.); D. 13.2 cm (5 3/16 in.)
Credit LineTheodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Charlotte Beebe Wilbour
Accession number1998.400a-b
On View
Not on viewClassificationsSilver
Collections
Ashbee-an influential designer, socialist, and reformer-produced radical designs for metalwork which, in their abstract simplicity, have become synonymous with the emergence of Modernism. This decanter, one of a series, is considered a classic of early-twentieth-century design with an austere, linear quality to the characteristic, looping wirework. The glass is based on archaeological finds at Ashbee's own home, which he mistakenly believed to be Elizabethan but which were actually of the mid-nineteenth century.
ProvenanceBy inheritance in the family of Ann Symington, England and USA. 1998, with Historical Design Collection, Inc., dealer, New York, NY; 1998, sold by Historical Design Collection to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 18, 1998)
designed 1928
about 1520
second or third quarter of the 14th century (?)
about 480–520
mid-17th century
19th century
Late 19th to early 20th century
late 19th century
late 19th century
mid-19th century