Vase with Streaky Green and Blue Glaze
DesignerDesigned by
Christopher Dresser
(Glasgow, Scotland, 1834 - 1904)
MakerMade by
Linthorpe Art Pottery
(Middlesbrough, England, founded 1879)
CollectorCollected by
Sandy Dunbar
(London, England, 1929 - 2012)
Date1879-1890
Object NameVase
Mediumearthenware
ClassificationsCeramics
DimensionsOverall (Height x Width x Depth): 175 × 105 × 95mm
Base (Width x Depth): 85 × 75mm
Base (Width x Depth): 85 × 75mm
AcquisitionThe Sandy Dunbar Studio Ceramics Collection presented in 2023 by Crinan Dunbar and Rebecca Russell.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS095708.88
About MeThis oval bulbous vase has a long neck and is decorated with a streaky green and blue glaze on a brown ground. Designed by Christopher Dresser for the Lindthorpe Art Pottery. The Lindthorpe Art Pottery, Middlesbrough, was set up in 1879 at the suggestion of Christopher Dresser, who is often considered the father of industrial design. Dresser and John Harrison, the owner of the site, aimed to produce artistic wares at the pottery and increase opportunities for employment in the area.
Dresser was influenced by Japanese aesthetics, forms and decoration following an extended visit to Japan which informed his designs for Lindthorpe. Some of his shapes were highly eclectic and the factory experimented with different glazes, often splashing or streaking various colours together. Most pieces were cast in plaster moulds. Other potteries imitated the glazes and shapes of Lindthorpe's wares, and in a competitive market Lindthorpe failed to be economically viable. It was closed in 1889 after John Harrison's death.
Linthorpe earthenwares were chiefly cast in plaster moulds, although many appear to have been thrown on the wheel. Numbers impressed on the base are those of the different shape moulds.
Tooth and Dresser both quit Linthorpe in 1882, Tooth to set up another pottery with William Ault, founded in 1883 as the Bretby Pottery in the Midlands. Ault later left Bretby and set up his own eponymous pottery. The Bretby and Ault potteries produced wares similar to those of Linthorpe. The Burmantofts Pottery, established in 1882, also imitated Linthorpe in forms and colour.
Linthorpe never made a profit and struggled in a saturated market. The collapse of a building society finally reduced Harrison to bankruptcy, and after a brief illness, he died in 1889. The pottery was closed and many of the moulds were later purchased at auction by William Ault, Henry Tooth and the Torquay Terra Cota Co. Ltd. This has sometimes complicated the task of identifying genuine Linthorpe wares as Linthorpe moulds were later used by other potteries to produce the same shapes, although they were usually of inferior finish and quality.
The brief existence of the Linthorpe Art Pottery and the huge interest in the work of Christopher Dresser have combined to make Linthorpe wares highly collectable.
The Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough, located only half a mile from the site of the pottery, has the world’s largest collection of Linthorpe as well as a new gallery dedicated to Christopher Dresser. It is well worth a visit.
