Storm vase

In 1904 George Brookman, a Gallery Board member and benefactor, selected this vase for the Gallery’s growing European decorative arts collection. He had previously seen the work of the British glass firm, Thomas Webb & Sons, at the Sydney International Exhibition of 1878 and the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880–81. The vase was designed around 1890 and is an example of the trend of the late nineteenth century to create high-quality art glass and art pottery, largely in response to a public looking to acquire beautiful objects as a result of the work of William Morris and the subsequent arts and crafts movement.

The firm of Thomas Webb & Sons became known for its cameo glass, produced under the direction of the brothers, George and Thomas Woodall. George and Thomas had become apprenticed as young men to the glass firm, J. & J. Northwood, learning cameo glass from John Northwood and (Thomas) Wilkes Webb and later at Thomas Webb & Sons. The rise of neoclassism in the 1880s saw cameo glass becoming popular in Britain at this time. The Gallery’s vase features a riot of activity, with carp and aquatic plants caught in dramatic swirling water. The design is achieved in shallow relief by carving the outer white layer of glass to expose the translucent green glass beneath. The subject matter draws inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints, which were popularised by artists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.