My passion is metalware. I’m not exactly sure why! Perhaps it’s the ever changing colours of brass or copper or pewter for these are the metals I’m more often drawn to. A beautiful and comforting glow. Yes, I know it sometimes needs cleaning but, in reality what worth owning doesn’t? What I do know is that I’m captivated by the flowing lines and organic forms of pieces created during the Art Nouveau period and I love the honesty and representations from the natural world around us of the arts and crafts movement. That period between the 1880s and the 1920s was a time of great change, with reaction against the forces of industrialization leading to a time of creativity and a passion for hand-crafted metalware.
The arts and crafts movement developed as a rebellion against the perceived dehumanizing effects of the industrial revolution. Writers such as Thomas Carlisle and later John Ruskin had extolled the virtues of the medieval craftsman and bemoaned the loss of such skills. William Morris had already established Morris & Co. from a collaboration of friends who jointly contributed to the creation of decorative fine arts. It was William Morris who persuaded W.A.S. Benson to open a metal workshop in 1880. And from those beginnings he produced some of the finest brass and copper items of the period from spirit kettles and hot water jugs to candlesticks and light fittings. During the 1880s and 1890s several metalwork schools and guilds grew up such as the Birmingham Guild and the Glasgow School. The Keswick School of Industrial Arts and the Newlyn Industrial Class shared that arts and crafts purpose. It was the history and landscape of the Lake District intertwined with the patterns and designs of earlier times that epitomised the brass and copper of the Keswick School, whilst Newlyn copper very much reflected its fishing heritage, seabirds and other marine creatures.
During this same period Arthur Lasenby Liberty founded his London store. Building relationships with leading designers he was a driving force in the 1890s behind the British Art Nouveau movement. These designers developed items in both pewter (‘Tudric’ range) and silver (‘Cymric’ range) from candlesticks and bowls to tea caddies and clocks. Liberty also imported items from Europe from companies such as Orivit and Kayserzinn. Between 1895 and 1910 the German metalware firm Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF) dominated the production of artistic domestic metalware in Europe. They produced a huge range of products reflecting the art nouveau and secessionist styles. Early on they were one of many German companies producing decorative metalware. From the flowing forms of Kayserzinn to the brilliant designs of Orivit, Orion and Osiris. However, only WMF survived and they are today the one metalware company that most people have heard of.
The arts and crafts movement developed as a rebellion against the perceived dehumanizing effects of the industrial revolution. Writers such as Thomas Carlisle and later John Ruskin had extolled the virtues of the medieval craftsman and bemoaned the loss of such skills. William Morris had already established Morris & Co. from a collaboration of friends who jointly contributed to the creation of decorative fine arts. It was William Morris who persuaded W.A.S. Benson to open a metal workshop in 1880. And from those beginnings he produced some of the finest brass and copper items of the period from spirit kettles and hot water jugs to candlesticks and light fittings. During the 1880s and 1890s several metalwork schools and guilds grew up such as the Birmingham Guild and the Glasgow School. The Keswick School of Industrial Arts and the Newlyn Industrial Class shared that arts and crafts purpose. It was the history and landscape of the Lake District intertwined with the patterns and designs of earlier times that epitomised the brass and copper of the Keswick School, whilst Newlyn copper very much reflected its fishing heritage, seabirds and other marine creatures.
During this same period Arthur Lasenby Liberty founded his London store. Building relationships with leading designers he was a driving force in the 1890s behind the British Art Nouveau movement. These designers developed items in both pewter (‘Tudric’ range) and silver (‘Cymric’ range) from candlesticks and bowls to tea caddies and clocks. Liberty also imported items from Europe from companies such as Orivit and Kayserzinn. Between 1895 and 1910 the German metalware firm Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF) dominated the production of artistic domestic metalware in Europe. They produced a huge range of products reflecting the art nouveau and secessionist styles. Early on they were one of many German companies producing decorative metalware. From the flowing forms of Kayserzinn to the brilliant designs of Orivit, Orion and Osiris. However, only WMF survived and they are today the one metalware company that most people have heard of.