Vase 1890 - 1900

William De Morgan made this earthenware vase with luster glaze, somewhere in England, during his active period. De Morgan’s vases stand at the intersection of the Arts and Crafts movement and Victorian Orientalism. The Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction against industrial manufacturing, but De Morgan embraced new technologies in pursuit of handcrafted effects. Here, Islamic design principles meet art pottery production in a marriage of exoticism and commodity. We see conventionalized plant forms and fluid, asymmetrical design. While the stylized flowers and leaves are inspired by the Ottoman pottery of Iznik, the vase form itself takes inspiration from Persia. As art historians, we might look at the artist's notebooks and the South Kensington Museum's ceramic collections, to understand how he synthesized these influences. De Morgan's vase speaks to the period's fascination with the ‘Orient’ and also the increasing integration of art and industry.