A rare Liberty & Co Cymric silver vase hallmarked London 1898, date letter “c”. This is an early design and the earliest hallmark for a Liberty & Co Cymric piece, which was launched in May 1899, just one week prior to the start of the 1899 the London assay year date letter “d”. The vase is Exhibit 16, in the May 1899 Liberty Cymric catalogue, named the Cyrus (a Persian king), and appears in the slightly later illustrated Cymric catalogue as shown in the images, number 2, page 49.
The original design drawing is held at the Museum of Domestic design and Architecture, Middlesex University (SD 2071). I am aware of only a handful of Cymric pieces with the date letter for 1898, one of which is in the V & A museum (ref: circ 320- 1976).
The design of the vase is clearly inspired by a 13th century glass vase excavated in Kent in the Victorian period and held in the British Museum in 1899.
Knox was known to have thousands of slides of historical artifacts from the British and Kensington Museums used in his teachings.
Maker: Liberty & Co
Designer: Archibald Knox attributed
Date : 1898
Marks: Ly & Co Liberty mark, London, date latter “c”
Material: Sterling silver
Size: 22cm high
Photographs and description courtesy of The Peartree Collection.
