Ladle
Christopher Dresser (Made by Hukin and Heath (London and Birmingham, England, 1855-1953))
c. 1880
- Medium
- Electroplated silver and ebony
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Dimensions
- H.: 34.6 cm (13 5/8 in.)
- Culture
- Birmingham
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Applied Arts of Europe
- Credit line
- European Decorative Arts Purchase Funds
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Electroplating, an electrical means to adhere a thin layer of silver to a base metal, was patented by a Birmingham manufactory in 1840. By the late 1800s, the region was home to many firms specializing in this technique. Christopher Dresser viewed electroplating as a means to produce elegant and modern design at reasonable prices for the middle class. This ladle and the tureen it accompanies are based on simple Buddhist metalwares he observed while in Japan in 1876.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
