Christopher Dresser / Linthorpe, Rare Aesthetic Movement "Persian" jug 1879
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Christopher Dresser / Linthorpe, Rare Aesthetic Movement Persian jug 1879
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
LINTHORPE ART POTTERY, Middlesbrough
HENRY TOOTH Artistic Manager Linthorpe (1842-1918) UK
“Persian” jug 1879-1882
Glazed earthenware
Marks: LINTHORPE, Chr. Dresser (facsimile signature),
HT, no. 344
Illustrated: Truth, Beauty, Power: Dr. Christopher Dresser 1834-1904, exhibition catalogue Historical Design, Inc. (New York, 1998) p. 76.
H: 8 3/4″
Rare model.
The contrasts in Dresser’s designs for different materials showed how his approach to design was also shaped by the properties and nature of a material. In 1879 Dresser was appointed art director at the newly established Linthorpe pottery, near Middlesbrough. Founded by John Harrison, a local businessman, the pottery’s aim was to use local clay to provide jobs for local men. Dresser’s design for the moulds for the pottery were inspired by a wide range of cultures from Japan, Peru, Mexico, Morocco and Ancient British forms. These very striking pieces, with the metal oxides in the complex and innovative glazes providing the only decoration. All of his designs were impressed with a facsimile signature. When Linthorpe closed in 1889, its moulds were acquired by a rival, Ault Pottery in Derbyshire. In 1893, Dresser signed a contract with Ault for new designs specifying that each pot should be marked with his facsimile signature.
Two other examples are recorded but with complex Victorican engraving.
Illustrated: Christopher Dresser and Japan, exh. cat. ed. by Koriyami City Museum of Art, Brain Trust Inc. (Koriyami 2002), cat. no. 114, p. 138; Christopher Dresser, ein Viktorianischer Designer, 1834-1904, (Cologne: Kunstgewerbemuseum der Stadt Köln, 1981) cat. no. 15; Truth, Beauty, Power: Dr. Christopher Dresser 1834-1904, exhib. cat. Historical Design, Inc. (New York, 1998) p. 33.
Jaipur Enameled and Gem Set Rare Solid Gold Cup and Saucer c. mid-19th Century
JAIPUR, MUGHAL INDIA
Enameled and gem set gold Cup and Saucer c. mid-19th Century
High carat yellow gold (22-24 carat) cup and saucer set with a fine emerald, ruby and diamonds, the cup with a high foot with rounded sides and handle formed of two snakes intersecting at three points and biting the rim. The exterior is decorated with red, green, blue and white enamels with roundels containing combatant animals on a ground of floral sprays, the saucer with gently rounded sides decorated with lobed cartouches containing warriors combating tigers and birds, the underside with a series of oval panels containing peacocks and hummingbirds.
Provenance: a gift from a European diplomat in the 1930’s-40’s, and thence by descent.
Saucer: Dia: 5 1/4;
Cup: H: 2 3/4″ (with handle) x Dia: 2 5/8″
Similar animal decoration can be found in an epaulette attributed to Rajesthan, probably Jaipur, in the Khalili Collection (Pedro Moura Carvalho, Gems and Jewels of Mughal India, London, 2010, p. 225, no. 120. A related cup and saucer with similar animal depictions was sold at Christie’s (Islamic Art, Indian Miniatures, Rugs and Carpets, London, 21st October 1993, lot 350.
Archibald Knox / Liberty & Co. Rare Sterling and Opal caviar server 1904
ARCHIBALD KNOX (1864-1933) UK
LIBERTY & COMPANY London, UK
Cymric tri-handled covered server 1904
Sterling silver with repoussé Celtic knot motifs and three buttress handles; the handle of the domed lid inset with a jelly opal, cylindrical crystal bowl.
Marks: No. 5199, Liberty & Co., CYMRIC and Birmingham assay marks for 1904 (all the marks appear both on the underside of the base and on the cover)
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