Tea kettle, electroplate and ebonized wood, designed by Christopher Dresser, maker unknown, England, about 1878-90.

The ovoid body is surmounted by a plain rim supporting the lid and is secured within the stand by a similar flange at the base. The plain tapering spout angled sharply upwards is attached to the front of the body near the base directly opposite is a double T shaped handle of ebonised wood which is attached to the body by rivets in two plain sockets. The lid is a plain disc with a small expansion hole drilled off centre and an internal flange to secure it within the neck of the vessel. The ebonised wooden finial is ovoid repeating the outline of the vessel and is surmounted by a moulded metal knop which is the top of the thread running through the centre, securing the finial by a circular nut on the underside of the lid.

The base of the tea kettle is stamped with the mark EPNS for Electroplated Nickel Silver and 0/1 for the thickness of the coating. The base of the lamp is stamped NS.

Dr Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) is regarded as one of the world's first industrial designers. As a graduate of the Government School of Design in London, he was influenced by the design theorist Owen Jones (1809-74) whose famous work 'The Grammar of Ornament' (1856) is still in print today. Jones's teaching around appropriateness of form and ornament for particular materials and objects had a profound effect on Dresser's development as an artist and designer. Dresser's academic interest in Botany also inspired his work.

As an independent designer, Dresser was a trailblazer. Other designers who often worked exclusively for manufacturers, but Dresser produced designs for a range of developing luxury brands. His first designs for household goods included a carpet made by Jackson & Graham. He designed ceramics for Wedgwood and Minton and ironwork, such as hat stands and furniture, for Coalbrookdale. For his designs for silver and electroplate, Dresser's name was on the books of manufacturers including Hukin & Heath and Elkington in Birmingham and James Dixon & Sons in Sheffield.

Dresser embraced industrial production. The plain geometrical forms of this teapot drew on his experiences travelling in Japan in 1876-77 and answered his call for designs that championed mass production with a clear focus on function. This design was first introduced in 1878 for production by the Birmingham factory of Hukin and Heath. This example, however, does not bear Hukin and Heath's electroplate marks. It is stamped simply 'EPNS' on the base for Electroplated Nickel Silver and could date from any time between 1878 and around 1890.

In keeping with his focus on appropriate designs for materials, Dresser lauded the plain, industrial finish of electroplate as a modern aesthetic in its own right. Electroplating involved immersing objects made of cheaper metals - such as copper, Britannia Metal or, as in this case, nickel silver - in a tank of silver cyanide and through electrolysis coating the objects with a microscopically thin layer of silver. The technology particularly suited objects with plain surfaces. Dresser's designs for silver and electroplate often celebrate the industrial nature of mechanically rolled sheet metal that has been coated using this new scientific method of surface decoration.

The veneer offered by electroplating is very thin but still reasonably hardwearing. Even so, years of use and repeated polishing has worn away areas of the plating on this tea kettle to reveal the nickel silver underneath. There is no silver in nickel silver. It is a white metal that is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc that takes on a slightly yellowish colour as it ages. A similar version of this design was also manufactured in silver.

Manufacturer unidentified

This tea kettle, with a burner and stand, was designed by Dr Christopher Dresser who is often regarded as one of the world's first independent industrial designers. It is made from electroplated nickel silver although the design was also produced in silver.

Christopher Dresser was one of the most talented designers to graduate from the Government School of Design in South Kensington. Unlike his contemporaries, John Ruskin and William Morris, he fully accepted and embracesd the implications of mechanical production. In 1876, he made his first visit to Japan which had a profound effect on him. Many of his highly original shapes for metalwork arose out of a dual concern for the techniques for mass production and the function of the articles he designed.

M.935-1983