Archibald Knox

comprising teapot, hot water jug, milk jug, sugar bowl and tongs

John Jesse, London, 1990

Archibald Knox (1864-1933), Liberty of London Designer and Master of British Art Nouveau, The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, February 12-April 19, 1998, no. S34
The Liberty Style, Metropolitan Teien Museum of Art, Tokyo, June 12-July 25, 1999, followed by a tour to six different museums in Japan through June 2000

Liberty Silver Sketch Book, Westminster City Archives, n.d., p. 407, no. 5034 (for the teapot, hot water jug and tongs)
The Liberty Style, exh. cat., Japan Art & Culture Association, 1999, p. 127, no. 202 (for the present example illustrated)
Adrian J. Tilbrook, The Designs of Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co, London, 2000, p. 163 (for a tea pot)
Stephen A. Martin, Archibald Knox, London, 2001, p. 196 (for the present example illustrated)

Overall in very good condition. The silver surfaces present with a few very faint scattered surface scratches consistent with age and gentle handling. The color of the cabochon is slightly more nuanced when viewed in person than in the catalogue illustration, with a more diverse palettes of rich brown and green hues. The coffee pot with a few faint and scattered abrasions to the body and the spout with two minute edge nicks. The handle with one shallow indentation at the lower edge of the handle. The cabochon of the coffee pot with a minor sensitively undertaken restoration to the right edge of the stone and a minor loss to the left edge. The ivory has been professionally replaced with ivorine. The tea pot handle has been later replaced in a manner and design consistent with the original. The cabochon on the tea pot with a minute horizontal crack that has been professionally stabilized and with a minute associated loss. The sugar bowl cabochon is in excellent condition. The cabochon on the sugar tongs with a partial loss to the cabochon measuring approximately 1/2 in., partially visible in the catalogue illustration. An outstanding example which epitomizes the artistry of Archibald Knox.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The teapot, creamer and sugar bowl in this set were created in 1901 and 1902 while the correct matching hot water jug, dated 1923, was likely a special order from the original Liberty Silver Sketchbook and added to complete the service at a later date.  Like other tea or coffee services from this modernist series, Knox has pared down form to its essence with the kind of quiet restraint that would have satisfied Christopher Dresser or any Bauhaus master.  In addition to epitomizing Knox’s grasp of the modern, this particular set, with its bisected body shapes and handle architecture resolving in downward protruding joins with identically placed colored stones, also evokes his family’s engineering legacy of innovative design solutions.

DR. STEPHEN A. MARTIN