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Chair

Designer Attributed to Christopher Dresser British, Scottish
Designer Roundels designed by John Moyr Smith
Manufacturer Coalbrookdale Company British
1870
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 516
The versatile artist Christopher Dresser is often celebrated as the first industrial designer. Philosophically, he was aligned with his contemporary William Morris on the virtues of good design but unlike Morris, he did not distain industrial production methods. Rather than affiliating himself with a single company or starting a workshop of his own, Dresser worked as an independent designer for manufacturers in many media, including ceramics, metalwork, glass, furniture and textiles. This cast iron chair is emblematic of the marriage of design reform to industrial production.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Chair
  • Designer: Attributed to Christopher Dresser (British, Glasgow, Scotland 1834–1904 Mulhouse)
  • Designer: Roundels designed by John Moyr Smith (British, 1839–1912)
  • Manufacturer: Coalbrookdale Company (British, established Shropshire, 1709)
  • Date: 1870
  • Culture: British, Coalbrookdale
  • Medium: Cast iron, wood
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 52 3/4 × 20 1/4 × 19 1/2 in. (134 × 51.4 × 49.5 cm);
    Height (seat): 18 in. (45.7 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Iron
  • Credit Line: Purchase, From the Marion E. and Leonard A. Cohn Collection, Bequest of Marion E. Cohn, by exchange, 2016
  • Object Number: 2016.568
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Wine bottle holder, Christopher Dresser British, Scottish, Electroplated metal, British, Sheffield
Wine bottle holder
Christopher Dresser
Hukin & Heath
ca. 1880
Clutha vase, Christopher Dresser British, Scottish, Glass, Scottish, Glasgow
Clutha vase
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1890
Traveling tea set, Christopher Dresser British, Scottish, Gilt and silver-plated brass; split bamboo; leather covered wood with velvet on the underside and glazed cotton linings, British, Birmingham
Traveling tea set
Christopher Dresser
Hukin & Heath
ca. 1879
Panel of four tiles, framed, Christopher Dresser British, Scottish, Earthenware with inlaid colored clays (encaustic), British, Stoke-upon-Trent
Panel of four tiles, framed
Christopher Dresser
Campbell Brick & Tile Co.
ca. 1880
Spoon, Christopher Dresser British, Scottish, Glazed brown earthenware, silver, British, Linthorpe, Yorkshire
Spoon
Christopher Dresser
Linthorpe Pottery Works
1879–82

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