Product Description
Christopher Dresser / Hukin & Heath “Crow’s foot” spoon warmer 1878
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
HUKIN & HEATH Birmingham, England
“Crow’s foot” spoon warmer 1878
Silver-plate
Marks: H&H, 2362
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.
H: 4 3/4” x W: 7”
Christopher Dresser / Hukin & Heath “Crow’s foot” spoon warmer 1878
DÉSIRÉ CHRISTIAN (1846-1907) France
MEISENTHAL (LOTHRINGEN) France/Germany
Gourd vessel in the Japanese taste c. 1885-90
Wheel-carved and martelé French cameo glass with metallic inclusions and applied glass (blossoms, tendrils and butterflies)
Signed on the bottom: Desire Christian, Meisenthal Loth
For information on Désiré Christian see: The Glass of Désiré Christian, Ghost for Gallé, Jules S. Traub (Chicago: The Art Glass Exchange, 1978).
H: 8 1/2″ x Dia: 4″
Leonard Wyburd UK
Liberty & Company London
Four-legged Thebes stool circa 1890-95. Oak with highly figured grain, concave slat seat, turned details.
Marks: 4 (impressed on underside)
This design was registered by Liberty & Co. in 1884.
Related Liberty & Co. stools illustrated: Liberty’s 1875-1975 : An Exhibition to Mark the Firm’s Centenary (London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1975) p. 35, illustr. C1, Liberty Design, 1874-1914 , Barbara Morris (London: Octopus Publishing Group:, 1989) p. 103; Egyptomania: Egypt in Western Art, 1730-1930 (Paris: Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux and Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1994), pp. 465-66.
H: 15″ x D: 17″ x W: 17″
One of the driving influences of the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th century was an informed interest in authentic ancient designs inspired by recent archaeological discoveries. Both the three and four-legged Thebes stool were inspired by actual furniture and wall paintings unearthed from royal tombs in the ancient Egyptian city for which they are named. Leonard Wyburd, who was one of the principal designers for Liberty, patented his designs for the Thebes stools in 1884. Liberty & Co. continued to make the popular stools into the early 1900’s.