Christopher Dresser Coalbrookdale 'Boreas' hall stand

Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) was a pioneer of modern design and arguably Europe's first industrial designer. One of the most radical designers of the nineteenth century, he enthusiastically promoted machines and mass-production, and his prolific output embraced a wide range of styles and techniques in ceramics, glass, metalwork, furniture, carpets, textiles, wallpapers and interior decoration. Working for the leading manufacturers of the day, he was an influential writer and theorist, stressing the importance of function, simplicity, mechanical skill and the use of readily available materials.

As a Professor of Botany, his naturalistic influences are clearly evident in the present work, however, the design also features figurative panels. The ornament on the hallstand back depicts Boreas, the Greek god of the North Wind, who invited winter with his icy breath.

This design was registered at the Public Record Office in London on the 8th March 1870, three years after Dresser began to design for the manufacturers Coalbrookdale. This date shows that this piece was created in the same year that Dresser began his celebrated articles The Principles of Decorative Design, which were published in book form in 1873, and it also predates by several years his famed trip to Japan of 1876 and 1877, the first official visit of a European designer to Japan, as a private guest of the Japanese government.

The hall stand combines the depiction of Boreas in conjunction with Aquarius, the water bearer in the zodiac. Considering Dressers' precise control of a piece's form and function it seems likely that these decorative elements are a coded allusion to the function of the piece itself, with hats, coats and umbrellas protecting the wearer from both wind and rain.

Anthony Hurl