This sculpture consists of an “urn,” with a basket-shaped handle, holding two stick-shaped tools made of glass and two glass tusks “lashed” together with glass made to look like a strip of rawhide. The urn and the tusks are suspended from a large antler, which is also made of glass. William Morris is widely recognized for his sculptures that explore themes related to archaeology, anthropology, and the natural world. These subjects are united by the artist’s interest in myth and ancient history, and his understanding of nature. Morris is an experienced outdoorsman and hunter, and his activities are reflected in his sculptures. His work does not depict animals in staged poses; instead, he focuses on the essence of the animal, revealing its nature through abstract forms. Morris is respected as a virtuoso glassblower, and he has worked with many master glassblowers, as well as with well-known painters and sculptors who are interested in making art with glass. Morris’s “Suspended Artifact” series evokes ancient hunting rituals or early archaeological finds. The series is related to his large-scale installations—constituting elaborate burials, or reliquaries, in glass—that preserve the hard bones and personal artifacts left behind by individuals of all civilizations. Yet Morris’s sculptures do not serve to remind us of our own mortality. As in the ancient Egyptian art that was destined for the tombs of the dead, his objects and installations are a celebration of life. Signed “William Morris 1995” on the bottom of the hanging urn. Published in Gary Blonston, William Morris: Artifacts/Glass, New York: Abbeville Press, 1996, p. 31.