Electroplated cruet stand, Birmingham, around 1878, designed by Christopher Dresser.

Cruet frame, electroplate, the six glass bottles missing. Spade shaped tubular handle, tubular stem, six semi-ovoid receptacles for glass bottles held by a pierced plate.

Christopher Dresser was born in Glasgow in 1834, the son of an excise office. In 1847 he enrolled in the Government School of Design, South Kensington and graduated in 1854 during which time it came under the direction of Henry Cole. Cole introduced the students to some of the most important designers of the day. He also undoubtedly introduced his more able students to major manufacturers. Cole had been associated with James Dixon & Sons during his Felix Summerly venture in the late 1840s and Dresser’s position as consultant designer to Dixons in the late 1870s probably came about as a result of Cole’s influence.

Of all Dresser’s tutors, Richard Redgrave and Owen Jones perhaps exerted the greatest influence. Redgrave taught botanical drawing which stimulated such enthusiasm in Dresser that he persevered with the study off botany and was awarded an honorary doctorate in the subject by the German University of Jena in 1859. His analysis of plant structure had a lasting influence on his development as a professional designer and the discipline of this scientific subject encouraged his rigorous and analytical approach to his professional career.

Dresser’s appreciation of oriental decorative art is more widely known. It was initially inspired by the collection of oriental ceramics, formed by the British plenipotentiary to China and Japan, Sir Rutherford Alcock and first publicly displayed at the London International Exhibition of 1862. Dresser himself made drawings and purchases from this collection and, encouraged by Alcock, started writing a series of discourses on Japanese art.

In 1876, Dresser embarked on a two year visit to Japan. The aim of this visit, according to Dresser, was threefold: to instruct the Japanese in modern industrial techniques, to bring an exchange of objects from the South Kensington Museum now the V&A( to the National Museum in Tokyo and finally complete collections on his own behalf and for Tiffany’s of New York.

Dresser was granted semi official status during his visit and was asked by the Minister for Home Affair, Okubo Toshimichi to act as an adviser to the Japanese Government on the modernisation of their art industries. The Meiji Emperor honoured him with an audience and allowed him to examine the Imperial collections in Nara and Kyoto, a rare privilege granted to few foreigners. Dresser’s report on his visit, written in conjunction with Ishida Tametake, a young official from the Japanese Ministry of the Interior, Japan, its Architecture, Art and Art Manufacturers, provided the most substantial coverage of contemporary Japanese art and industry to date and had a marked impact.

It has often been assumed that Dresser’s revolutionary metalwork designs for James Dixon & Sons, Elkingtons and Hukin and Heath amongst others, were the direct result of his absorption of Japanese aesthetic.

Electroplate superseded Sheffield Plate as the way to mass produce silver substitutes. Many electroplate manufacturers favoured traditional styles to save on design costs, but Christopher Dresser's aim was to use new technology without compromising on design. Sharp angles, plain surfaces and a rigorous attention to 'fitness for purpose' characterised his work.

M.26-1971