Many people
associate Modernism with the streamlined style popularised by the Art Deco Movement and its connection with the New York skyline, grand ocean liners and the Jazz Age. However, Modernism has a far
more complicated origin, which can be traced back to the latter part of the 19th century. Modernism was the driving force behind most of our artistic and technological developments throughout the
last century. It has successfully promoted a progression of concepts and styles, which still have an impact on design today.
So how do we define Modernism? It flourished in the years before the outbreak of the First World War as an assortment of collected ideas covering most areas of the arts and sciences. The movement was
international and it quickly spread throughout Europe and America aided by the advent of new publications like The Studio in England and Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration in Germany. Both
magazines held regular competitions encouraging new designers to experiment and submit work. It also created a platform for manufacturers to appraise and purchase new designs.
 Figure 3. Osiris Walter Scherf & Co, 'Tischlampe', pewter glass lamp designed by Friedrich Adler, model 751, 1901-02, 16½in. An early example of
modern domestic lighting. (FCR Gallery London)
Pewter was a traditional material that
was distinctly adaptable to modern production methods. It was a lustrous substance both easy to mould and finish. New inventions such as electroplating allowed the alloy to be finished with metals
such as gold, silver and bronze. This gave the pewter an expensive and luxurious appearance which was embraced by the ever-expanding middle classes of Europe.
Many of the seminal figures of the Modernist Movement were architects and professors. They relayed their pioneering theories to a receptive young audience who then passed them on to the subsequent
generation. Their philosophies also conveyed a continuity of values rarely seen in an artistic movement. Elements of Modernism infiltrated the popular period styles of the day, first making inroads
into the Arts & Crafts Movement and then progressing through Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Post War Design.
Pewter was commonly used in many forms of domestic design during this period. Embellishments to furniture included pewter inlay and decorative objects such as candlesticks, vases and bowls were
created and marketed to fulfil the ever-increasing consumer demand for the new and modern. Innovative manufacturing techniques, instigated by the Industrial Revolution, fuelled the mass-production of
pewterware, allowing workshops to experiment with design in audacious new ways.
Dr Christopher Dresser was indisputably the father of Modernism. He originally trained as a botanist and later adapted his observations of nature to design. Dresser concluded, through his study of
flora, that design was not superfluous in nature and therefore every beautiful thing had simplicity of form and a clear function. He was one of a handful of Westerners to visit Japan in the latter
part of the 19th century. The exchange was organised by the Department of Trade and sponsored by The Museum of Manufactures (later renamed the Victoria & Albert Museum). One of his
responsibilities was to present the Emperor with a collection of everyday British ceramics and, in return, the Queen was presented with a large collection of contemporary Japanese pottery (a great
proportion of this gift makes up much of the V&A's Japanese pottery collection today).
Domestic design in Japan had a profound influence on Dresser's development as a designer. When he returned to England he adopted a more simplistic and pared-down approach to his work which manifested
itself in much of his production from 1880 until his death in 1904. Dresser was inspired by what we now perceive as a form of 'minimalism' - the typical domestic lifestyle of Japanese architecture
and functional household design. He produced a wide variety of products for the home fashioned in metal, ceramics and wood. All were made with a straightforwardness of line and
form.
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