Toast Rack
Christopher Dresser (Made by James Dixon & Sons Ltd. (Sheffield, England, 1835-1976))
c. 1880
- Medium
- Silver
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Dimensions
- 14.6 × 13.7 × 10.2 cm (5 11/16 × 5 3/8 × 4 in.)
- Culture
- Sheffield
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Applied Arts of Europe
- Credit line
- Harry and Maribel G. Blum Endowment
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
The use of sinuous coils differentiates this toast rack from Christopher Dresser’s more angular silver designs. In an era increasingly dominated by cheaply produced, low-quality goods, designers began considering how to improve both the design of objects and the conditions of the workers who made them. As a proponent for English design reform, Dresser sought to make high-quality goods in a variety of styles to appeal to a wide range of customers. This softer model may have enticed consumers who were not quite ready for the pointed starkness in some of Dresser’s more radical designs.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
