(Image: Stewart Attwood)
A beautiful angularsilver-plated teapot, thought to be one of three in the world, has sold at auction in Edinburgh for a six-figure sum.
Designed in the late nineteenth century by Glasgow-born Christopher Dresser (1834-1904), the teapot sold on the first day of Lyon & Turnbull's prestigious two-day-long Design Since 1860 auction for £133,600, more than three times the estimate (£30,000 to £50,000).
In the same auction, celebrated Arts & Crafts designer, C.F.A. Voysey's The River Rug sold for £95,500, also triple its estimated value (£30,000 to 50,000).
The striking teapot went under the hammer first, with bidding starting at £30,000. Offers came in quickly online, by phone, and in the room.
The other two known examples of the teapot are held by London's Victoria and Albert Museum, while the other is in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
In the same auction, celebrated Arts & Crafts designer, C.F.A. Voysey's The River Rug sold for £95,500, also triple its estimated value (£30,000 to 50,000). (Image: John McKenzie)
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Christopher Dresser, born in Glasgow to English parents, studied at the Government School of Design in London from the age of 13.
One of the first independent industrial and commercial designers of his age, Dresser worked with more than 50 manufacturers across Britain, France and the US, harnessing the power of mass production to produce thousands of affordable items for household use.
Dresser was one of the first European designers to travel to Japan after it opened to the west in 1854. After spending four months travelling across the country in 1876-77, he embraced instead the simplicity, form and functionality of the Japanese aesthetic, setting a trend for the western design world.
Although Dresser spent most of his professional life in London, he was born in Glasgow in 1834. He left Scotland as a child but remains one of the most influential Scottish-born designers of the Victorian period.
One of the first independent industrial and commercial designers of his age, Dresser worked with more than 50 manufacturers across Britain, France and the US, harnessing the power of mass production to produce thousands of affordable items for household use. (Image: Stewart Attwood Photography)
C.F.A. Voysey's The River Rug, made in 1903, comes directly from the family of Philip Barendt, a London-based insurance broker and businessman who was a notable client of Voysey.
Voysey was commissioned to make various alterations to Barendt’s house in Hampstead, London, between 1901 and 1909, as well as designing furniture and decorations for the property.
After the sale, Lyon & Turnbull Head of Design, John Mackie said: “Dresser’s designs were pioneering and his teapots, reflecting his interest in polyhedral Japanese tea kettles, were produced in limited numbers in electroplate, probably to order.
"As with all his designs, Dresser was deeply concerned with the economical use of costly materials and made it his business to understand production techniques thoroughly.
“This teapot is one of his seminal works and I am delighted that it achieved such a result, with spirited international bidding.
"Voysey's The River Rug is one of his most remarkable and unusual carpet designs.
"Unlike the highly stylised repeating patterns of birds, animals and foliage for which Voysey became renowned, this design presents an intricate bird's-eye view of a meandering rural landscape, transforming the carpet into a richly detailed pictorial map.
"Both items are rare examples of the respective artists’ work, deviating from their usual designs and deserving of being in the spotlight."