Theodore Hanford Pond American, 1872 - 1933 Vase, c. 1910 H. 17 1/2 x W. 4 1/4 (at base) in.

A writer, lecturer, educator, craftsman, and museum director, Theodore Pond attended Pratt Institute from 1888 to 1892, subsequently designed glass for Tiffany Studios, held various academic positions (including one at the Rhode Island School of Design), and directed the Pond Applied Arts Studios from 1911 to 1914. He made this handwrought copper vase around 1910. It reflects his belief that metalsmiths should be able to execute their pieces from beginning to end. And like other Arts and Crafts designs, the work’s simple sinuous form derives from nature, having been inspired by a wildflower--jack-in-the-pulpit. Remarkably elegant and restrained, it stands in marked constrast to the heavy ornamentation found in earlier Victorian decor.