Christian Dell (1893–1974) was a German silversmith. Dell was born in Hesse’s Offenbach am Main. In the 1920s, Dell ran the metal workshop at the Bauhaus University, and his designs are, in line with the Bauhaus style, characterised by modern shapes and functionality. After his successful stint as an industrial designer, Dell returned in the late 1940s to his original profession as a silversmith.
Education
He completed his studies in silver forging at the academy between 1907 and 1911. He attended the Saxon College of Arts and Crafts in Weimar from 1912 to 1913.
Biography
He served as the metal workshop foreman at the Bauhaus in Weimar from 1922 to 1925. He transferred to the Frankfurt art school, or Städelschule, in 1926. In 1933, the Nazi Party forbade him from remaining there; however, Walter Gropius offered him employment in America. Dell, however, made the decision to stay in Germany. Following the end of World War II, Dell produced silver goods and opened a jewellery store in Wiesbaden in 1948. He ran this business there until 1955. He passed away in 1974 in Wiesbaden.
Starting in 1926, Dell drew lighting designs, initially for the New Frankfurt project. Dell, a forerunner in the field of plastic design and an early industrial designer, used bakelite and amino plastics in his works for Molitor-Zweckleuchten between 1929 and 1930. The lamps produced in Neheim Hüsten by Gebr. Kaiser & Co. between 1933 and 1934, which were produced in large numbers, are well known. The Danish design firm Fritz Hansen is the owner of the Kaiser Idell name and lamp manufacturing business.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
Shop, F. D. (n.d.). Christian Dell design. Christian Dell Design; http://www.finnishdesignshop.com. Retrieved July 30, 2022, from https://www.finnishdesignshop.com/Christian_Dell-d-1530.html
Wikipedia contributors. (2022, January 27). Christian Dell. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:01, July 30, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christian_Dell&oldid=1068196417
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