Photographed by Scott Wolff. Scanned from a slide. Color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Cinerary Urn

Artist William Morris (American, b. 1957)

Date2002

MediumBlown glass with horse hair

Dimensions9 × 9 × 8 3/8 in. (22.9 × 22.9 × 21.3 cm)
Base: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
Overall, Rim: 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm)

ClassificationsGlass

Credit LineGift of the artist

Object number2002.20

Terms

Irregular
Memorial
Funerary
Death
Urn
Red
Black
Green
Purple
Yellow
Seattle, Washington

Collections

Glass Art

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an urn of blown glass in black with irregular red splotches and hints of green, purple, and yellow color. It is a squat rounded form with loops for the ties on either side and a tight fitting round lid with a single handle on top. The lid is secured to the sides with horse hair and set with glass rods.

Label TextWilliam Morris American (b. 1957) Cinerary Urn, 2002 Blown glass with horse hair Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Gift of the artist 2002.20 Mystery is the hidden companion of joy and of loss, both of which are deeply felt but not always understood…. Our creativity and intuition access endless magic. If we draw upon them during the mourning process, many of our learned notions about death-taught to us so that we might be spared pain and discomfort-dissolve, bringing us to a place of liquid contemplation. ~William Morris, 2002 Cinerary urns are vessels intended to house the cremated remains of the dead. The ancient Romans were the first to fashion them from glass. William Morris created his first Cinerary Urn after the death of his mother in 2001. The vessels became a series following the deaths of other close friends and mentors, as well as the lives lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Morris drew inspiration for the urns from a multitude of cultural sources, searching for a common, human need to deal with the awe and mystery of death.