A Rare Christopher Dresser Minton Tile, Ebonized Walnut and Gilt Bronze-Mounted Jardinière on Stand, c. 1875-1880, New York or Philadelphia, the tiles decorated with birds, cattails, and flowers, retaining the original zinc, copper and brass liner, the stand with a drawer in each end for drainer tray, lion mask handles (probably by Guerin), legs joined by stretchers, height 28 1/4 in., width 36 1/4 in., depth 12 1/4 in. Note: Considered the progenitor of Modern design, Dr. Christopher Dresser (English, 1834-1904), traveled to the United States in 1876 where he conferred with Louis Comfort Tiffany on procurement of items to be acquired in Japan later in the year. Dresser also delivered three lectures for the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts coincident with the 1876 Philadelphia International Exhibition. Newly erected buildings at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts designed by Frank Furness and George W. Hewitt put in evidence Dresser¹s trans-Atlantic influence. Philadelphia furniture maker Daniel Pabst attended Dresser¹s lectures, and subsequently adopted a more rectilinear style inspired by Dresser¹s aesthetic. This lot, not only adorned with tiles of Dresser¹s design, but also using Dresser¹s vocabulary, is an example of the designer¹s sway on American decorative arts. Reference: Anscomb and Gore. Arts and Crafts in Britain and America. p. 55; Halen. Christopher Dresser, A Pioneer of Modern Design, pp. 40-42; Taylor, et. al. The Shock of the Old. ³Dresser in the United States,² pp. 115-120.