U-shaped vase. Culture: British, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Designer: Christopher Dresser (British, Glasgow, Scotland 1834-1904 Mulhouse). Dimensions: Overall: 7 5/8 × 6 3/8 × 3 3/4 in. (19.4 × 16.2 × 9.5 cm). Factory: Minton(s) (British, Stoke-on-Trent, 1793-present). Date: 1886 or 1889.This double vase represents a visual blending of cultures: the shape is derived from pre-Columbian vessels; the bands of gold stylized chrysanthemums are from Japanese sources; and the deep blue glaze, which may have been chosen by Minton, recalls Sèvres porcelain. Although Christopher Dresser takes his cues primarily from non-Western sources, this eclectic mix is typical of English decorative arts in the second half of the nineteenth century. Original models were not necessarily copied but used as a resource for designers from which new designs could be drawn. In 1862, Dresser published The Art of Decorative Design, in which he instructs fledging designers: "We can by cultivation and careful en