William de Morgan, Merton Abbey Arts and Crafts lustre tile with deer, c1885

Description: Size: 153 mm square (6 inches).Condition: Very good condition. Minor area of glaze loss to one edge - this does not go into the tile body - please see images. Clean crazing as expected. Old glue residue to back of tile.This is a very rare original antique tile from the Merton Abbey studio of William de Morgan, one of the great pioneers of the British Arts and Crafts movement.All of William de Morgan's work is highly prized, but the animalia tiles in lustre are very hard to find outside museums and private collections.The tile is hand painted with an image of a young deer. The tile itself, which has a slightly bevelled edge, is made using the dust pressed method and has a slight relief pattern of foliage, stamped on the front in a regular pattern. The deer is painted over this pattern. A painted background of grasses and foliage was quite often used on William de Morgan's animal tiles of all periods, but this impressed pattern is rather unusual.The deer also appears to be painted with some degree of relief detail, please see images.One of de Morgan's claims to fame is his "re-invention" of the ancient Islamic technique of reduction fired lustre - a notoriously difficult technique due to the precise pigments and firing conditions required – which he worked tirelessly to perfect. His work varies considerably in the success of this, but in this example he has achieved a very striking deep red.The back of the tile bears the William de Morgan Merton Abbey mark. De Morgan set up that workshop, next to William Morris's textile workshops in Surrey, in 1882 and closed it in 1888, when he moved closer to home in Fulham. The Merton Abbey period was the most creative and commercially successful of de Morgan's career.

Price: 1800 GBP

Location: Barkestone, Nottingham

End Time: 2025-01-19T10:57:22.000Z

Shipping Cost: 42.66 GBP