Archibald Knox
Today we have a superbly scrumptious decorative arts masterwork from the Manx (Scottish) designer Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co. in London, England (and manufactured by W.H. Haseler & Co. in Birmingham, England). Knox designed hundreds of pieces for Liberty & Co. that fused Celtic art, the Arts and Crafts movement, and the best of Art Nouveau. This candelabrum has a clean, intricate design and scale that would have been immensely popular and immediately prized at the time. The blue enamel jewels offer beautiful contrast to the polished pewter base. The sleak candelabrum stem is plain at the bottom (the better to reflect the enamel pieces) and then wrapped with an intricate interplay of leaves and vines that start halfway up the stem and continue across the candelabrum arms, nestling Celtic knots on the candle cups. Imagine two candles flickering and causing light to play across the candelabrum!
Archibald Knox was born on the Isle of Man (between Ireland and Great Britain in the Irish Sea). He was fascinated by the great stone crosses left on the island by Celtic and Norse peoples over a thousand years before. He celebrated Celtic designs; their influence flowered in his own design work. Though he contributed over 400 designs, his production work for Liberty & Co. in London was anonymous (as was the work of all their designers). Nowadays his designs are celebrated for their synthesis of style and organic beauty. They are hard to miss! The design and execution of this candelabrum are among the best.
- Brad Allen