Archibald Knox

A Rare "Cymric" Four-Piece Tea Service with Tongs, Model No. 5034

each element impressed L&Co, each element except milk jug impressed 5034, each element except hot water jug impressed CYMRIC, each element with Birmingham Assay Office marks with date letter 1901 (teapot), 1902 (milk jug, sugar bowland tongs), 1923 (hot water jug), hinged cover of teapot and hot water jug impressed with Lion Passant and date letter

silver, hardstone, ivorine and composite

comprising teapot, hot water jug, milk jug, sugar bowl and tongs

Provenance

John Jesse, London, 1990

Exhibited

Archibald Knox (1864-1933), Liberty of London Designer and Master of British Art Nouveau, The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, February 12-April 19, 1998, no. S34

The Liberty Style, Metropolitan Teien Museum of Art, Tokyo, June 12-July 25, 1999, followed by a tour to six different museums in Japan through June 2000

Literature

Liberty Silver Sketch Book, Westminster City Archives, n.d., p. 407, no. 5034 (for the teapot, hot water jug and tongs)

The Liberty Style, exh. cat., Japan Art & Culture Association, 1999, p. 127, no. 202 (for the present example illustrated)

Adrian J. Tilbrook, The Designs of Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co, London, 2000, p. 163 (for a tea pot)

Stephen A. Martin, Archibald Knox, London, 2001, p. 196 (for the present example illustrated)

Photograph and description courtesy of Sotheby’s.