Sussex Heritage: The beauty of the Arts and Crafts aesthetic
In the late 19th and early 20th century numerous firms began to embrace the Arts & Crafts ideals of the handmade. This was particularly apparent in the applied arts, the decorative designs of everyday objects, where art and functionality were brought together in a beautiful Arts & Crafts aesthetic.
This week I am in the company of Toovey’s Arts & Crafts specialist William Rowsell. I ask William about the role of Liberty & Co in the British Arts & Crafts Movement. He replies “It was started by Sir Arthur Lasenby who was a leading figure in the English Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts movements and through Liberty & Co became an arbiter of taste. He commissioned leading designers like Archibald Knox to design products which were sold under Liberty’s Tudric brand. Today Tudric tea caddies tend to realise low to middle hundreds of pounds at auction. Liberty & Co also sold objects and furniture for other manufacturers including Pilkington Royal Lancastrian pottery.”
The Pilkington Royal Lancastrian firm was brought into being by William Burton in 1891. A chemist and natural scientist he had previously worked at Josiah Wedgwood & Co as their chemist.
William draws my eye to a Pilkington Royal Lancastrian lustre vase and cover which recently sold for £550 in Toovey’s specialist Arts & Crafts auction and says “Pilkington employed art potters and decorators working in the handmade tradition of the Arts & Crafts movement including Richard Joyce. Richard was an extremely accomplished artist. He was quietly spoken. His work was influenced by the Japanese aesthetic, painting free flowing scenes of birds and animals. He joined Pilkington in 1903 and remained there until his death in 1931. He painted lots of pieces of lustreware. The animal studies like the deer in the woodland setting depicted on this vase and cover are amongst his finest work. They capture the animals natural grace.”
William concludes “Across all the collectors’ fields handmade pieces are often amongst the most prized. This is particularly true of Arts & Crafts pieces which combine functionality and an aesthetic beauty.”
Whether you are looking to collect or sell William Rowsell is always delighted to share his specialist knowledge and passion for the Arts & Crafts with others. Toovey’s next specialist sale of Arts & Crafts which will be held on Thursday 9th October 2025.
Rupert Toovey is a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington - www.tooveys.com - and a priest in the Church of England Diocese of Chichester.