LIBERTY & CO
Rare Box
The design attributed to
Charles Francis Annesley Voysey 1857-1941
Silver & enamel
Length: 5.7 cm   Width: 5.3 cm  (2.2 x 2 in)
Height: 4cm (1.6 in)
Marked: W.H.H for W.H. Haseler
Birmingham 1905
Fitted case
C.F.A. Voysey worked for Liberty's from the late 1880's onwards The archetypal design on the cover of this box shows great similarity to the 'Stag' originally published as a wallpaper design, see 'The birth of The Studio 1893-1895' page 162 'Some recent designs by Mr. C.F.A. Voysey
The actual use of the stag is missing from this composition but the birds in flight, both kinds of trees & the swans on the river are all present & in a similar schematic design
Literature: cf. Liberty Design, Barbara Morris, 1989, page 22
Art Nouveau 1890-1914, The V & A, 2000, page 135 illustrates the Voysey woollen double cloth, 1897

All Photographs © David Newell-Smith