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
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
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
JAMES COUPER & SONS Glasgow
Clutha vase c. 1895
Aventurine blown glass with iridescent gold streaks and internal bubbles
Illustration: Christopher Dresser, Widar Halen (Oxford: Phaidon, Christies Limited, 1990) p. 196, illust. 228.
For more information: Liberty Style: the classic years, 1898-1910, Mervyn Levy (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1986); Christopher Dresser: the power of design, Christopher Wilk (New York: Zurland – Zabar, 1993).
H: 19 3/8 ”
ANTONIO PIÑEDA (1919-2009) Taxco, Mexico
Exhibition Pitcher c.1959-60
Handwrought sterling silver in an overall triangular form with a diamond opening and a double splayed form and contoured handle, 30 troy ounces total weight
Marks: Antonio Taxco (large crown mark) Sterling Silver, 930, Mexican Eagle silver standard mark
Exhibited at the Triennale di Milano, Italy, 1960
Provenance: Antonio Pineda, 1990
Illustrated: Triennale di Milano, Argentería di Antonio Pineda,
Exhibition Catalogue (Milan, 1960).
H: 6 5/8” x L: 9 ½” x D: 5 ¾”