Object of the Month - William De Morgan wall plate
1st June 2024
William De Morgan attributed his fascination with lustre pottery to the many years he spent as a designer of stained glass. He was attracted by the iridescence caused by the silver in the paint that outlined his designs prior to the glass being fired, and he sought to recreate that effect, firstly on ceramic tiles.
From 1872 he operated out of Cheyne Row in Chelsea, moving the pottery to the larger site of Merton Abbey in Surrey in 1882. Following De Morgan’s marriage in 1887, the pottery moved to Sands End in Fulham in 1888; the ten-year period at Sands End was the most prolific of De Morgan’s career and saw some of the most ambitious designs and experiments in lustre decoration.
The lustre wall plate included in the Fine Arts & Crafts auction on 19th June was produced at this time, and is from the Sunset and Moonlight series that employed double and triple lustre effects. The design of an eagle attacking another bird is typical of De Morgan’s focus on nature, medieval motifs and the grotesques that were so beloved of late Victorian designers and illustrators. While the influence of Middle Eastern art on De Morgan’s designs was considerable, the deep blue lustre used to such effect on this plate appears to be a colour of his own invention and, as such, is remarkably rare.
Although designed by De Morgan, the plate has been painted by Charles Passenger who, along with his brother Fred, was one of the leading painters at the pottery. The Passenger brothers went into partnership with De Morgan in 1898 as the pottery experienced financial difficulties, and they continued to run it between 1907 and 1911 when De Morgan left.
Having perfected the lustre techniques he had strived for years to master, De Morgan was disheartened by the firm’s failure. He is quoted as saying, “All my life I have been trying to make beautiful things, and now that I can make them nobody wants them.”
Like so many artists, De Morgan didn’t live to see the true appreciation of his works, which are now highly sought after by collectors around the globe. The plate featured here was part of a wider collection of De Morgan ceramics included in the sale and sold for £8,190 including premium.
