Lot 48
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904)
CONICAL SUGAR BOWL
Auction: 19 April 2005 at 13:00 BST
Description
manufactured by Elkington & Co, silver plate, stamped marks 'Elkington & Co. 247', registration mark for 1885
Dimensions
8.5cm high
Footnote
EXHIBITED:
'Christopher Dresser: Un designer alla corte della regina Victoria', Palazzo della Triennale, Milan, 30 October 2001-March 2002
LITERATURE:
Principles of Decorative Design, Christopher Dresser, Cassell, Petter and Galpin, London, 1873, pp138 and 139
'Christopher Dresser 1834-1904', Michael Whiteway, Skira Editore S.p.A., Milan, 2001, plate 203
Note; Dresser produced several exceptional designs for Elkingtons in the 1880s. The pared down lines of this sugar bowl give it a particularly 'modern' look.
An exaggerated drawing of this bowl appears in Dressers article for 'The Technical Educator', 'Principles of Design', which appears to base the design on Egyptianesque forms. In this article Dresser outlines the process by which he arrives at the design;
"To form a handle as a mere ornament is an absurdity, for the handle is part of the vase structurally, while the ornamentation is an after and separate consideration…such a sugar basin as I have suggested would not stand without legs; it must therefore have them; but I see no reason why the legs and handles should not be combined; hence I propose three feet formed as to serve as handles throughout their upperparts, they being convenient to hold.
…what form should it have? After much consideration, I have arrived at the conclusion that the two shapes engraved….best fulfil the requirement for the vessel, for in them the sugar is always collected together, and the dust sugar separates itself from the lumps.
If a handle is to exist at all, it should be so formed as to be useful, and afford a means of moving the object with ease and comfort.'
Provenance; Collection of Peter Rose Esq.