A rare enamelled metal Symbolist vase by Sir Hubert von Herkomer RA

A rare enamelled metal Symbolist vase by Sir Hubert von Herkomer RA, tapering cylindrical form with waisted cylindrical neck, enamelled in shades of green with a pair of figures flanked by mermaids, signed HvH in the enamel, cast HvH inside laurel wreath to base, rd no.387036, 24.5cm. high

Catalogue notes

Sir Hubert von Herkomer RA (1849-1914) Best known as a Victorian portraitist and social realist painter, Herkomer was also a restless polymath. Born in Bavaria, his family went first to America before settling in Britain. Largely self-taught, he began his working life as an illustrator for, amongst others, The Graphic. Settling in Bushey, Hertfordshire, he founded his own successful school of art in and around his home, Lululaund, a distinctive building in the Bavarian style designed by the American architect, Hobson Richardson. The entrance portal survives and has recently been renovated. His financial success gave him the freedom to be constantly exploring and experimenting with new media. In the 1890s he was much taken by the challenge of enamelling as an artistic medium, establishing in his garden an enamelling workshop, staffed by experienced workers acting as his assistants. He made some examples himself. Later items such as these vase forms were decorated in his studio with his various designs of allegorical subjects. Classical in inspiration, they reflect his admiration for the symbolist work of G. F. Watts. The Bushey Museum also has examples.

Bibliography

Spielmann, Marion H. 'Professor Herkomer as a Painter in Enamels' Magazine of Art (1899) 105-112, 163-167.

Edwards, Lee MacCormick (1999) Herkomer a Victorian Artist, Aldershot: Ashgate 128-130.