Design for a Vase

These designs for two vases are possibly the collaborative work of Philip Webb (1831-1915) and Kate Faulkner (1844?-1898). Webb is known to have designed for stained glass and ceramics as well as jewelry. The firm also often employed relatives and friends of its members, such as Burne-Jones's wife Georgiana (1840-1920) and Jane Morris's sister Bessie Burden (1842-1924). Kate Faulkner, the sister of one of the firm's early partners, Charles Faulkner (1834-1892), was an admirable craftswoman, contributing her skills to the firm not only as a decorator but also as a designer. She executed several textile designs in the late 1870s, two of which were also issued as tiles. The flatness of the designs on view for the vases suggests that they, too, may have served another function, perhaps as stencils.