Product Description
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.
Christopher Dresser / Linthorpe, Rare Aesthetic Movement “Persian” jug 1879
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
HUKIN & HEATH Birmingham, England
“Bridge” toast rack c.1880
Silver-plate
Marks: H&H (stamped marks), 2554
For more information see: Christopher Dresser, by Widar Halén (Oxford: Phaidon, 1990) illus. 178 (middle), p. 157; Truth, Beauty, Power: Dr. Christopher Dresser 1834-1904, exhib cat. Historical Design, Inc. (New York, 1998) p. 46
H: 4 3/4″ x D: 3 7/8″ x W: 6″
This is an extremely rare model in the form of a stylized “Japanese” foot bridge and is related by the construction elements to the stationary or articulated letter stand.
Another example of this model can be found in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.