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Wedgewood Fish Vase designed by Christopher Dresser

Christopher Dresser (1834 – 1904) became known as the first ‘industrial designer’. He designed objects for the home that were functional yet beautiful, that could be mass-produced making them more affordable. Ornament, shape, colour and function were all important to him. He saw perfection in nature and used the natural world as inspiration for many of his abstract forms.

Wedgewood Fish Vase designed by Christopher Dresser

This vase was inspired by the shape of a fish. Its tail forms the base and its mouth forms the opening at the top with an ‘eye’ underneath. It is made from unglazed terracotta and decorated with an enameled sting-ray and gilt markings.

Christopher Dresser designed over 1,000 pots for the Linthorpe Pottery in Middlesbrough, including the Fish Vase, putting the town on the map as a centre for some of the most influential and innovative ceramic designs of all time. This particular vase was made by the world famous ceramics producers Wedgwood, from Dresser’s design.

Image courtest of Middlesbrough Museums Service