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Ladle
Christopher Dresser, born 1834 - died 1904 - Enlarge image
Ladle
- Place of origin:
Birmingham, England (made)
- Date:
1880 (designed)
ca.1880 (made) - Artist/Maker:
Christopher Dresser, born 1834 - died 1904 (designer)
Hukin and Heath (manufacturer) - Materials and Techniques:
Electroplate, with an ebony handle
- Credit Line:
From the Handley Read Collection
- Museum number:
M.26B-1972
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 125e, case 1
Object Type
This ladle breaks with tradition by replacing the graceful curve generally used for ladles, 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.Therefore the articulations used in this design had a functional as well as 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.
