CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) FOR JAMES DIXON & SONS, SHEFFIELD
ELECTROPLATED COFFEE POT, CIRCA 1881
£80,000
Auction: 29 October 2014 at 11:00 GMT
Description
of oval form with applied ebony handle and four strut feet, stamped marks EP/ JD&S 2278 with registration mark for 25th November 1880 and with facsimile signature CHR. DRESSER
Dimensions
22.3cm high
Footnote
Literature: Rudoe, J. 2008 'Design and Manufacture: Evidence from the Dixon & Sons Calculation Books', The Decorative Arts Society 1850 to the Present: Christopher Dresser in Context, Journal 29: 66-83.
Sheffield Archives, Accession B496, Dixon costings book 1881, p. 106.
Whiteway, Michael (edit.) 'Shock of the Old: Christopher Dresser's Design Revolution', London 2004, pp. 152-161 and p.155, pl. 194
Note: This rare and possibly unique coffee pot is one of a group of remarkable designs that the pioneering Victorian designer Christopher Dresser produced for James Dixon & Sons of Sheffield from 1879 -1883. A series of costings books, held in the archives at Sheffield, reveal that Dresser produced approximately 80 designs for Dixon's, not all of which are thought to have gone into production. This was possibly due to comparative expense of manufacture, but also because of the radical nature of his designs. Dresser's interest in and close understanding of the process of manufacture and the use of materials are reflected in these books. They show how much each item produced cost to make in detail, how they were made and, in most cases, which were designed by Dresser. The illustration shows the coffee pot's entry in the costings book and, as well as laying out costs, also shows who would carry out some of the work. The cost of this coffee pot, at £1/17s/3d, make it one of the most expensive items that Dresser designed for Dixons and, along with its striking design, may explain its rarity. Stamped 2278, the pot relates to Dresser's design for a teaset with the same serial number which appears in the 1879 costings book. Several versions of the teapot were made including a version especially created for Tiffany & Co. with hammered decoration. Although most scholarly study of the books has tended to concentrate on the costings for 1879, this coffee pot appears later, in the 1881 book, although it was registered in November 1880. Looking through the books, the majority of the designs are not illustrated, with the exception of those by Dresser, which usually appear as a thumbnail sketch or photograph. This may be an indication that these more expensive and unusual vessels did not appear in their trade catalogues and were perhaps generally made to order.
It is widely accepted that at this point in his career Dresser was at the height of his powers, about to embark on what would be his bold but ill-fated retail project, The Art Furnishers Alliance. His designs for Dixons at this time, and in particular his tea and coffee pots with their bar-shaped ebony handles and simple lines stripped of ornament, reflect the impact of his visit to Japan in 1876, giving them a remarkably contemporary appearance. Their expense 'broke his most cherished rules about the economical use of costly materials and ease of production', however what they did achieve was his posthumous reputation as a proto-modernist and mark him out as one of the greatest talents of 19th century design.