Live Auction 22125The Ann and Gordon Getty Collection: Temple of Wings
WILLIAM DE MORGAN (1839-1917)
Lot 30

WILLIAM DE MORGAN (1839-1917)

A vase and cover, late 19th century

Closed14 June 2023

Price Realised

USD 22,680

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WILLIAM DE MORGAN (1839-1917)
A vase and cover, late 19th century
glazed and lustre-decorated ceramic
Painted in ruby lustre with figures aboard three galleon ships, their sails with bears and displaying birds against a gold lustre sky, all on a choppy sea punctuated by large fish and sea serpents, the cover with a radiant sun
Painted blue D.M. FULHAM. above a wavy line mark
12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm.) high, 9 in. (22.9 cm.) diameter

The Fine Art Society, London, April 1996.
Acquired by Ann and Gordon Getty from the above.

Specialist note

William De Morgan frequently employed ship motifs as a pun on the idea of 'craftsmanship'. A lustre-decorated vase and cover of the same form, a galleon to its side painted with similar bears to its sails, is illustrated in M. Greenwood and R. Dennis, The Designs of William de Morgan, Ilminster, 1989, p. 224, pl. 159. A vase with a variant bottle-form body, but similarly pairing galleons with bears and displaying birds to their sails, is currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum (accession no. 860-1905).