Covered Jar
Manufacturer
Martin Brothers
(English)
CultureEnglish
DateMay 12, 1882
MediumSalt-glazed stoneware
DimensionsOverall: 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm)
Base: 1 in. (2.5 cm)
Base: 1 in. (2.5 cm)
InscribedFully signed and dated. Incised on cover: "illegible first line / R.W. Martin Sc. / London Southall 5.12.1882". Incised interior of neck of jar: "Martin . London . 5.12.82". Incised on round, black wood base: "R. W. MARTIN & BROS./LONDON.
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number94.28.2
Not on view
Label TextRobert Wallace Martin
English (1843-1923)
Martin Brothers
Southall, Middlesex (1873-1914)
Grotesque Bird-form Tobacco Jar, 1882
Stoneware
Museum Purchase 94.28.2
Martin Brothers ceramics, particularly their grotesque creatures and urchins, are widely recognized not only for their style, but as emblems of the idiosyncratic late Victorian Period. The work of Robert Wallace Martin and his two brothers eventually freed ornament from any historical style. The resulting eclecticism locates their pottery company among the pioneers who liberated the decorative arts from the rigid historicism into which it had fallen. The more naturalistic style of Martin Brothers ceramics led to the Art Nouveau movement.
Edited By: GLYExhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25, 1996 - February 16, 1997
