Tureen
1880 (designed), ca.1880 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Soup tureens, used to serve soup at the dinner table, first appeared in the early 18th century. Often sumptuously decorated, they rapidly became the dominant object on the dining table. Christopher Dresser's flat undecorated lid is in stark contrast to the more typical 'swollen' form of a conventional tureen, exemplifying his instinct for strict functionalism. The ladle also breaks with tradition by replacing the graceful curve generally used with a stricter, broken form, which requires only the slightest turn of the hand for serving.
Design & Designing
Dresser realised that the use of thin-gauge metal made the object inherently weak and therefore subject to distortion. His solution was to add reinforcing ridges and an internal lip, which gave the bowl extra rigidity. The articulations used in this design therefore had a functional as well as an aesthetic purpose. Other versions of this design were made with ivory handles.
People
Unlike his contemporaries, whom he saw as indulging in pictorialism and historicism for the sake of their superficial romantic associations, Dresser attempted to investigate the formal properties of the objects he admired. He developed fresh designs following on from his own instinct for natural functional forms, which he believed to be appropriate to contemporary requirements.
Soup tureens, used to serve soup at the dinner table, first appeared in the early 18th century. Often sumptuously decorated, they rapidly became the dominant object on the dining table. Christopher Dresser's flat undecorated lid is in stark contrast to the more typical 'swollen' form of a conventional tureen, exemplifying his instinct for strict functionalism. The ladle also breaks with tradition by replacing the graceful curve generally used with a stricter, broken form, which requires only the slightest turn of the hand for serving.
Design & Designing
Dresser realised that the use of thin-gauge metal made the object inherently weak and therefore subject to distortion. His solution was to add reinforcing ridges and an internal lip, which gave the bowl extra rigidity. The articulations used in this design therefore had a functional as well as an aesthetic purpose. Other versions of this design were made with ivory handles.
People
Unlike his contemporaries, whom he saw as indulging in pictorialism and historicism for the sake of their superficial romantic associations, Dresser attempted to investigate the formal properties of the objects he admired. He developed fresh designs following on from his own instinct for natural functional forms, which he believed to be appropriate to contemporary requirements.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Electroplate, with ebony handles |
| Brief description | Soup tureen with lid, electroplate, designed by Christopher Dresser, Hukin and Heath, 1880 |
| Physical description | Electroplate soup tureen with three legs, a flat lid with finial, two handles of bar form each attached by two horizontal struts. Hole in lid for ladle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | From the Handley Read Collection |
| Summary | Object Type Soup tureens, used to serve soup at the dinner table, first appeared in the early 18th century. Often sumptuously decorated, they rapidly became the dominant object on the dining table. Christopher Dresser's flat undecorated lid is in stark contrast to the more typical 'swollen' form of a conventional tureen, exemplifying his instinct for strict functionalism. The ladle also breaks with tradition by replacing the graceful curve generally used with a stricter, broken form, which requires only the slightest turn of the hand for serving. Design & Designing Dresser realised that the use of thin-gauge metal made the object inherently weak and therefore subject to distortion. His solution was to add reinforcing ridges and an internal lip, which gave the bowl extra rigidity. The articulations used in this design therefore had a functional as well as an aesthetic purpose. Other versions of this design were made with ivory handles. People Unlike his contemporaries, whom he saw as indulging in pictorialism and historicism for the sake of their superficial romantic associations, Dresser attempted to investigate the formal properties of the objects he admired. He developed fresh designs following on from his own instinct for natural functional forms, which he believed to be appropriate to contemporary requirements. |
| Associated objects |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.26&A-1972 |
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| Record created | January 25, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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