Beschreibung:

A Liberty & Co 'Cymric' silver cigar box by Archibald Knox Birmingham 1902, the plain polished rectangular box with hinged cover enamelled in blue and green with an entwined knot design, 19.5cm wide, 7cm high, 12cm deep The London store Liberty & Co was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917) in 1875. With a £2000 loan from his future father-in-law, Arthur Liberty took on the lease of half a shop at 218a Regent Street with only three staff. Within eighteen months he had repaid the loan and acquired the second half of 218 Regent Street. The store became the most fashionable place to shop in London and iconic liberty fabrics were used for both clothing and furnishings. Its clientele was exotic, and included famous members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. The shop specialized in selling ornaments, fabric and objects from Japan and the Far East. The Liberty department store was an enormous influence on British artists and designers. In 1899 Archibald Knox began designing for Liberty particularly the new Celtic design work such as the 'Cymric' and 'Tudric' range, (silver and pewter respectively). Their Cymric catalogue states, 'The feature of this development is, its complete breaking away from convention in the matter of design treatment'. In addition to metalwork and jewellery Knox designed terracotta garden ornaments, carpets, wallpaper and fabrics for Liberty & Co, seemingly mastering each discipline with ease.