Teapot

Designer Christopher Dresser British, Scottish

ca. 1879

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 516

This teapot was produced by the Sheffield firm of Dixon and Sons, founded around 1808, to a design by Christopher Dresser. The versatile Dresser sold thirty-seven designs to the firm between 1879 and 1882, but not all of them materialized. Highly unusual designs, such as that of this teapot, afforded Dresser the appreciation as a proto-modernist. However, they also departed from Dresser’s own set of rules regarding the cost-effective production and employment of expensive materials.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Teapot
Designer: Christopher Dresser (British, Glasgow, Scotland 1834–1904 Mulhouse)
Manufactory: James Dixon & Sons (British, founded Sheffield, 1806)
Date: ca. 1879
Culture: British, Sheffield
Medium: Silverplate, ebony
Dimensions: confirmed: 5 × 9 × 5 1/4 in., 1.1 lb. (12.7 × 22.9 × 13.3 cm, 500g)
Classification: Metalwork-Silverplate
Credit Line: Gift of Lawrence A. and Janet Y. Larose, 2021
Object Number: 2021.153.2
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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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