Archibald Knox both used and understood the relevance of Celtic design work to the Scottish, Irish and indeed English decorative arts at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. Knox was born on the Isle of Man and was of Scottish descent. He had a keen interest in his ancestry and his heritage and saw the intrinsic use of that heritage within his work as a useful and creative spur during much of his career.
The Celtic knot is not particularly Celtic in origin or flavour, as it appears and reappears in a number of indigenous cultures across the planet in various forms and guises. However, it has become associated with the Celtic fringe regions of Western Europe through a mixture of Victorian antiquarian study and the commercial aspects of companies such as Liberty & Co, which made the Celtic knot both a fashionable and desirable decorative format during the later Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau periods.
Archibald Knox and his interest in Celtic styles of decoration made him a keen favourite of Liberty's, though it must be said that the Celtic format was by no means Knox's only decorative style. The illustrations shown here are all examples of initial design work produced by Knox, and show an interesting blend of both the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau styles, which is not always an easy mixture. The Arts & Crafts ideal of a pure and unadulterated source for decorative detail would have tended to have used the idea of the Celtic knot in its strictest and purest format. The movement saw no need to dress the knot in any other decorative detail or pattern work, as the knot itself should be able to maintain itself within its own integrity, in other words, it did not need to be dressed up.
However, the Art Nouveau philosophy was much more of one of producing design and decorative work that had an overall flair and was perhaps much more commercially based, though not always intentionally. This would have made the Celtic knot part of an overall pattern with the Celtic identity only forming part of a larger and less distinct style.
That Knox understood both of these links shows in his Celtic knot design work. The pattern work, while paying due attention and reverence to the original Celtic knotwork design, is equally aware of the new flowing lines and stylised floral representations of the Art Nouveau movement. That Knox could identify and perhaps more impressively, marry the two philosophies together while still maintaining his own original interest and integrity in his heritage, was and still is, a fine balance that appears infrequently in decorative work with cross-culture themes.
Further reading links:
The Archibald Knox Society
Archibald Knox
Designs of Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co
Archibald Knox and Mary Seton Watts - Modern Celtic Art Garden Pottery
The Journal of the Archibald Knox Society: v. 1
Celtic Knotwork
Great Book of Celtic Patterns: The Ultimate Design Sourcebook for Artists and Crafters
Celtic Knotwork Designs
Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction
The Celtic Design Book: A Beginner's Manual, Knotwork, Illuminated Letters
101 Celtic Knotwork Designs
Draw Your Own Celtic Designs
Celtic Knots: Mastering the Traditional Patterns (Celtic Design)
Celtic Knotwork Designs (Design Source Books)
Knotwork And Spirals: A Celtic Art Workbook
The Treasury Of Celtic Knots
Celtic Art: From Its Beginnings to the Book of Kells
Art of the Celts: From 700 BC to the Celtic revival (World of Art)
