A stunning copper charger made by students from the Liverpool School of Applied Arts, circa 1898.

The charger has an intricate repousse design of what appears to be pumpkins. It is surprisingly Art Nouveau in style for a piece made in the late 1890s. Although the piece is unmarked this particular design was illustrated in The Studio periodical in 1898. The article talks about the work of the Liverpool School of Applied Art and contains a photograph containing several examples of repousse work by the students.

The Liverpool School of Applied Art was established in 1894 and has become widely known as the “Art Sheds”. The accommodation was allegedly quite makeshift comprising of several wooden sheds with metal roofs. That being said, there were several key figures from the Arts and Crafts movement who taught at the School. In 1898 the teacher of design was J. Herbert McNair and Robert Anning Bell was teaching painting.

In 1898 Richard Llewellyn Rathbone had just taken over the teaching of metalwork at the School and the article in The Studio states “Under Mr. R. L. Rathbone, the metal-working class is engaged principally with “raising” and repoussé work in copper. A few specimens are here illustrated. The first and second prizes in this class were awarded to C. E. Thompson and H. Eckstein, and a special prize to E. Cuthbert Woods.”. Charles Edward Thompson [commonly known as C. E. Thompson] was born in 1869 and took evening classes in metalwork under Rathbone at the School of Architecture and Applied Art, University College, Liverpool in the late 1890s and early 1900s. He subsequently worked as an art metalworker and architectural draughtsman. The illustration may well be showing the prize-winning metalwork by Thompson and others which could give a clue to the possible maker of this particular charger.

A very rare survivor with great provenance that is both beautifully designed and made.