Pinch bottle. Culture: British, Swadlincote. Designer: Christopher Dresser (British, Glasgow, Scotland 1834-1904 Mulhouse). Dimensions: Height: 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm). Manufacturer: Ault Pottery (British, 1887-1922). Date: ca. 1890.This bottle demonstrates the strong influence of Japanese ceramics on Christopher Dresser (1834-1904), a prolific designer who played a key role in promoting the industrial arts in Victorian England. In 1876, Dresser became the first designer to be invited by the Japanese government to study the arts of Japan as a delegate of the newly opened South Kensington Museum (Victoria and Albert Museum). His keen interest in the unconventional forms and experimental glazes of Meiji period ceramics such as Awaji pottery merged with domestic traditions in English salt-glazed wares in the designs he produced for Linthorpe Art pottery (1878-1889). William Ault purchased and used the Linthorpe factory's molds based on Dresser's shapes when he established his pottery in 1887