Product Description
Christopher Dresser / Linthorpe Art Pottery Rare Aesthetic Movement “Gourd” Vase 1879-1882
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
LINTHORPE ART POTTERY, Middlesbrough
HENRY TOOTH Artistic Manager Linthorpe (1842-1918) UK
“Gourd Vase” 1879-1882
Glazed Earthenware
***Extremely rare Dresser / Linthorpe model.
Marked: LINTHORPE, Chr. Dresser (facsimile signature) HT, no. 326
Illustrated: Christopher Dresser: Truth, Beauty, Power exh. cat. (New York: Historical Design, 1998) p.75; illustrated in two drawings for gourd vases in Dresser’s 1881 design and account book under heading “Aug. 29, 1881. Sent to J. Harrison Esq. 41 Designs for Linthorpe.”
H: 7 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 Rare Aesthetic Movement “Gourd” Vase 1879-1882
OTTO HEINTZ, New York
HEINTZ ART METAL SHOP Buffalo, New York
Grand verdigris “Silver Crest” vase c. 1925-30
Bronze with a rich green patina; sterling silver collar and foot
Made by the Heintz Art Metal Shop, Buffalo, NY
Marks: Silver Crest logo with STERLING DECORATED BRONZE, conjoined H A M S in diamond shape, 1080
For further information see: The Arts & Crafts Movement in New York State: 1890s-1920s. Coy L. Ludwig (Hamilton, NY: Gallery Assoc. of NY State, 1983) p. 90.
H: 14 3/4”
The Heinz shop used sterling silver applied as floral ornamentation to bronze. The objects were distinguished by a variety of patinas and machine-shaped bases-very different from the hammered look of most Arts and Crafts metal works. Despite the death of its founder Otto Heinz in 1918 at the age of 41, the company continued and produced a more modern line entitled Silver Crest.
CHARLES GREBER France
“Chameleons” vase c. 1905
Stoneware with crystalline-structure glaze in creamy white beige and blue tones with floral motifs and three full scale chameleons perched on the edge.
Marks: C. Greber (incised script)
H: 6 1/4″ x Dia: 7 1/2″
The potter-sculptor has awakened Darwin’s theory of evolution with this vase and has furthermore humanized these reptiles with an amusing sense of cameraderie.