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Lot Essay
A Knox Rarity
The great Manx artist, Archibald Knox (1864-1933) ranks among the most influential decorative designers of the early twentieth century despite the fact that no piece carries any mark denoting him as the creator. His anonymity was assured by virtue of his natural reticence and the policy of Liberty & Co, his employer, never to reveal the names of their artists. Nevertheless, his stylistic signature is so distinctive that when one of his great objects does appear, his hand, and his soul, is unmistakable.
So it is with the present lot, an extraordinarily rare mirror known only from one other example. Carrying the date mark for 1903, this mirror falls squarely in Knox's mature phase of artistic creation lasting from 1901 to 1905, characterized by the synthesis of sinuously rendered entrelacs and elegant outlines as well as a masterful chromatic use of enamel and semi-precious stones. Lesser Knox pieces might have one of these components; better ones have several; but great ones, like this, have them all.
Probably made to order based on a working design numbered 5020 in the Liberty Silver Sketch Book, this mirror differs significantly from a famous oft reproduced cousin in the Virginia Museum of Art. Although not as tall as that mirror, this one is a genuinely three-dimensional object, a significant achievement when working within an essentially two-dimensional concept. Through the interplay of a cartouche of glorious enamel, lyrical entrelacs and complementary colored stone cabochons, Knox creates the firm ground out of which rise on the sides of the mirror two silver stalks resolving in teardrop lapis and chalcedony blossoms. In so doing he surprises and delights us with its beauty and functionality.
Conceived when in full artistic stride, this mirror by Archibald Knox ranks among his finest, and unquestionably, most rare designs. It is an iconic example of his ability to marry a Celtic sensibility nourished by ancient Manx crosses to a prescient modern aesthetic at so early a date; as such it is a masterpiece for any age.
Dr. Stephen A. Martin
Editor: Archibald Knox, ArtMedia Press, 2001
Ardmore, PA USA
September 1, 2013
The great Manx artist, Archibald Knox (1864-1933) ranks among the most influential decorative designers of the early twentieth century despite the fact that no piece carries any mark denoting him as the creator. His anonymity was assured by virtue of his natural reticence and the policy of Liberty & Co, his employer, never to reveal the names of their artists. Nevertheless, his stylistic signature is so distinctive that when one of his great objects does appear, his hand, and his soul, is unmistakable.
So it is with the present lot, an extraordinarily rare mirror known only from one other example. Carrying the date mark for 1903, this mirror falls squarely in Knox's mature phase of artistic creation lasting from 1901 to 1905, characterized by the synthesis of sinuously rendered entrelacs and elegant outlines as well as a masterful chromatic use of enamel and semi-precious stones. Lesser Knox pieces might have one of these components; better ones have several; but great ones, like this, have them all.
Probably made to order based on a working design numbered 5020 in the Liberty Silver Sketch Book, this mirror differs significantly from a famous oft reproduced cousin in the Virginia Museum of Art. Although not as tall as that mirror, this one is a genuinely three-dimensional object, a significant achievement when working within an essentially two-dimensional concept. Through the interplay of a cartouche of glorious enamel, lyrical entrelacs and complementary colored stone cabochons, Knox creates the firm ground out of which rise on the sides of the mirror two silver stalks resolving in teardrop lapis and chalcedony blossoms. In so doing he surprises and delights us with its beauty and functionality.
Conceived when in full artistic stride, this mirror by Archibald Knox ranks among his finest, and unquestionably, most rare designs. It is an iconic example of his ability to marry a Celtic sensibility nourished by ancient Manx crosses to a prescient modern aesthetic at so early a date; as such it is a masterpiece for any age.
Dr. Stephen A. Martin
Editor: Archibald Knox, ArtMedia Press, 2001
Ardmore, PA USA
September 1, 2013