William Morris
Rhyton Vessel

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Artist William MorrisAmerican, 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

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 206

On view

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Department

Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Object Type

GLASS

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.

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