Christopher Dresser (1834-1904), a rare electroplate teapot, No. 2277, circa 1880, manufactured by James Dixon & Sons, Sheffield, England, electroplated metal with ebony handle, impressed with manufacturer's mark Chr. Dresser and 2277 12.5 x 22 x 13.5cm Provenance: Georgina Bourke (née Anderson, then Greenwood), who likely acquired the teapot in the early 20th century. A socialite who mixed in avant garde circles, Bourke first married Lieutenant J F B Greenwood, Kings Own Royal Regt., who was killed in action in May 1915, before moving to Cheltenham and then later, after the war, to Southern Ireland, where she lived in Castleconnell, Co. Limerick. After her death in 1967, the teapot remained undiscovered in a trunk containing her various possessions until a recent routine valuation. Literature: H.Lyons, Christopher Dresser: The People's Designer 1834-1904, p. 7 no. 8 W.Halén, Christopher Dresser, 1990, p. 182, pl. 206 W.Halén, Christopher Dresser: A Pioneer of Modern Design, London, 1993, p. 183, pl. 206 M.Whiteway, Shock of the Old: Christopher Dresser's Design Revolution, 2004, p. 158, pl. 200 Born in Glasgow in 1834, from age thirteen Christopher Dresser effectively began his career when he commenced his training at Somerset House's Government School of Design, one of a number of state-funded centres established from 1837 to train designers specifically for industrial production. This was a period defined by a stratospheric rise in machine manufacturing, making household items more widely available and creating an entirely new market for innovative and creative designs that were suited to modern methods of manufacture. Although he was only twenty-eight years old at the time of the 1862 Great London Exposition, whilst there Dresser claimed to have designed "as much as any man"; this was likely true as he was demonstrably accomplished in all aspects of industrial design, including carpets, ceramics, furniture, glass, graphics, metalwork and textiles. By the end of 1862, Dresser had published The Art of Decorative Design (1862) and The Development of Ornamental Art in the International Exhibition (1862), followed latterly, in 1873, by Principles of Decorative Design. Though he may have designed more than any other man at the Exposition, the Japanese works he saw at there inspired a lifelong interest in the country and its aesthetic principles. Closely associated with influential design reformers including Richard Redgrave, Henry Cole, Owen Jones, and Matthew Digby Wyatt, Dresser was not only interested in the practical facets of design, but also the moral and philosophical doctrines. For Dresser and his cohort, design had the capacity to "exalt" or "debase". Establishing his principles of 'Truth, Beauty and Power', Dresser looked to the natural world to inspire. Using reduced and abstracted forms from nature, Dresser aimed to express the essence of design in its most distilled form. Despite his pioneering aesthetic, many of Dresser's designs were too complex and costly to be easily mass-produced, limiting their accessibility. The present example, catalogued as no. 2277 in 1879, is a rare example of his work, with only around twelve known to exist. One such piece forms part of the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Also displayed internationally by institutions including the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, it is difficult to overstate the importance of Christopher Dresser in the history of industrial design. One foot is slightly bent inwards and the base very slightly dished around the area, a very minor crease to the underside of the base, just visible in the right light. A couple of small marks to the cover where it has knocked against the handle. Some tarnishing and the plating slightly rubbed to finial, hinge and the rim of the cover, also to joint where spout meets body. A small dent to one side, and some other light surface wear and scratching more commensurate with age and use. Please see additional images and video online. The handle does not protrude beyond the metal at either end, but does not appear to be broken, again see images. Handle rotates freely.
