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Design for a decanter, a flask mounted in silver gilt
Burges, William - Enlarge image
Design for a decanter, a flask mounted in silver gilt
- Object:
Design
- Place of origin:
Great Britain, United Kingdom (made)
- Date:
1867 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Burges, William (A.R.A.), born 1827 - died 1881 (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Pencil, watercolour and body colour
- Museum number:
8830:3
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E, case A, shelf 119
William Burges (1827-1881) was an antiquarian and an avid collector of rare and precious things. (An antiquarian is a person who studies things of the past.) He was also an architect and designer. He not only appreciated old and beautiful things, but successfully incorporated them into his work. In his designs he often combined semi-precious stones, classical gems and gold coins, Chinese jade and fragments of jewellery in an exquisite new assemblage. Here he has used them on the metal mounts for decanters (flasks containing liquor). Burges was able to design on all scales. Among his achievements are tiny jewelled cups, splendid pieces of furniture and a complete new castle in the Gothic style, at Castle Coch in South Wales.
