sliderarrowCloseMenushare_facebookshare_instagramshare_xshare_linkedinshare_threadsshare_shareshare_tranditionalshare_calendarshare_emailicon_threadsconnect_facebookconnect_instagramconnect_xconnect_youtubeconnect_atbtn_arrowhamburger-x
Skip to main content
Menu Collections

Rhyton Vessel

Rhyton Vessel

© William Morris

Rhyton Vessel
Rhyton Vessel
ArtistAmerican, born 1957
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Rhyton Vessel
Date1997
PlaceStanwood, Washington, United States
MediumGlass
DimensionsOverall: 19 1/2 × 14 × 8 1/2in. (49.5 × 35.6 × 21.6cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Bill and Sara Morgan Family Foundation of the Greater Houston Community Foundation
Object number99.641
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
Object Type
DescriptionThe glass of William Morris reflects his fascination with Native American, ancient Egyptian, Cycladic, and African cultures. Morris's complex forms are often closely tied to animals, artifacts, myths, and history, and he is renowned for his ability to transcend glass’s natural properties so that it appears to be a different material altogether. In 1996, Morris began working on the Rhyton series, which take the form of horned animals and are inspired by a type of ceramic or bronze drinking vessel popular in ancient Greece, Rome, and Persia. Morris’s Rhytons almost always appear as horned animals resembling horses, bulls, or stags and are often paired with large rounded stone or pouch-like forms. Many, as seen here, carry vessels or other accoutrements on their backs. This Rhyton Vessel demonstrates Morris’s remarkable skill in capturing the essence of an animal’s spiritual power. Majestic and symbolic, the work touches on the primal nature of life, drawing the viewer into its otherworldly orbit.

ProvenanceThe artist, Stanwood, Washington; purchased by MFAH, 1999.
Exhibition History"Contemporary Craft from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 27–August 13, 2001.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
There is no apparent signature or mark.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Il n'y a pas d'oeuvres à découvrir pour cet enregistrement.

William Morris