Claret Pitcher
Christopher Dresser
British, 1834–1904
c. 1880
A tall, conical claret pitcher in glass with silver‑plated fittings and an ebony handle, conceived to serve wine with controlled precision and a spare, elegant dignity.
Its striking silhouette—an elongated glass cone capped by a mirror‑bright spout and collar and pierced by a long dark wooden handle—reads as an austere, almost sculptural marriage of materials.
By stripping decoration to essential form and pairing glass, metal, and wood for both beauty and manufacture, Dresser’s pitcher points toward industrial-age functionalism and the emergence of modernist design.
Medium
Glass, silver plate, and ebony
Dimensions
16 5/8 x 5 1/4 x 4" (42.2 x 13.3 x 10.2 cm) diam. at base
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller
Accession
529.1977
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
