Product Description
Christopher Dresser / Linthorpe Art Pottery Aesthetic Movement Pitcher 1879-1882

CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
LINTHORPE ART POTTERY, Middlesbrough, England
HENRY TOOTH Artistic Manager Linthorpe (1842-1918) UK
“Flaring Lip” Pitcher 1879-1882
Glazed earthenware
Marks: LINTHORPE, Chr. Dresser (facsimile signature),
HT, no. 346
Illustrated: Christopher Dresser, by Widar Halén (Oxford: Phaidon, 1990), illus. 185, p.163; Truth, Beauty, Power: Dr. Christopher Dresser 1834-1904, exhibition catalogue Historical Design, Inc. (New York, 1998) p. 76.
H: 9 3/4″
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.
Christopher Dresser / Linthorpe Art Pottery Aesthetic Movement Pitcher 1879-1882
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
HUKIN & HEATH Birmingham, England
Adjustable toast or letter rack 1881
Silver-plate (articulated model)
Marks: H&H, 2555, stylized fleur-de-lis touch mark
Illustrated: Truth, Beauty, Power: Dr. Christopher Dresser 1834-1904, exhibition catalogue Historical Design, Inc. (New York, 1998) p. 21.
H: 5″ x W: 6 1/2″ x D: 4″
There is another model of this toast /letter rack in the collection of the British Museum, London, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
MINTON, Stoke-on-Trent, England
“Cloisonné” vase 1867
Glazed porcelain with polychrome enamel decoration and gilding
Marks: MINTON, date cipher for 1867
Illustration: Truth, Beauty, Power: Dr. Christopher Dresser 1834-1904, exhibition catalogue, Historical Design, Inc. (New York, 1998) p. 78.
H: 9 7/8”
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
BENHAM & FROUD London, England
Coffee pot 1888
Copper, brass, wood handle and finial
***One of only two known models of this Dresser / Benham & Froud coffee pot.
Marks: maker’s cipher, Reg. no. 114566 for 1888
Only other model known illustrated: Christopher Dresser, by Widar Halén (Oxford: Phaidon, 1990), illus. 192, p. 170 (variant model); Truth, Beauty, Power: Dr. Christopher Dresser 1834-1904, exhib. cat. Historical Design, Inc. (New York, 1998) p. 66.
H: 9″ x D: 7 3/8″
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
OLD HALL EARTHENWARE CO. (1861-1886) Staffordshire, UK
“Persia Pattern” dinner plate c. 1861-1886
Overall cream gloss glazed octagonal-shaped earthenware dinner plate from the “Persian” pattern with transfer-printed and over-glazed ornate foliate motif; each corner contains two shallow indentations for condiment use.
Marks: Old Hall and Persia Marks
W: 9 15/16″
The identical plate in the “Persia Pattern” can be found in the collection of the Wolfsonian. A soup plate in the identical “Persia Pattern” can be found in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum.