GENERAL DESCRIPTION
While designers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean produced objects in the Egyptian Revival taste, American silversmiths favored simpler forms and more selective application of Egyptian motifs than their European counterparts. Gorham Manufacturing Company's Isis fish set, attributed to its chief designer George Wilkinson, demonstrates the American version of the style. Stylized lotuses engraved and bright-cut on the blade of this fish knife and pierced on the bowl of the matching fish fork (1992.12.2) contrast with rectangular grips and conical finials that terminate the bold handles.
Adapted from
Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 64, 331.
NOTES
TMS Updates - GeoXrefs - place of origin, and birth and death location, worked in (William Wilson McGrew) - JBA (10/30/2017)
I added George Wilkinson as Designer with prefix "Attributed to" and William Wilson McGrew as retailer per Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 69.
I edited the title according to the Decorative Arts and Design title formats.
I edited, updated, or entered the Provenance, Exhibition History, Bibliography, and Published References fields in TMS.
I added the following as a TMS Text Entry: Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 331.
I pulled the citation from fun facts and am keeping here instead- Excerpt from
Charles L. Venable, "Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor" (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 331. (EAS, 11/22/2017)
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1992: The V. Stephen Vaughan Collection, Chelsea, Massachusetts
From 1992: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- YouTube~Watch a video about Gorham Manufacturing Company.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read more about Nineteenth-Century American Silver.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- The original leather box, labeled WM. WILSON MCGREW / JEWELLER / & / SILVERSMITH / CINCINNATI, survives for this example.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1992.7.12.1
Category
rules_operator
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General Description
While designers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean produced objects in the Egyptian Revival taste, American silversmiths favored simpler forms and more selective application of Egyptian motifs than their European counterparts. Gorham Manufacturing Company's Isis fish set, attributed to its chief designer George Wilkinson, demonstrates the American version of the style. Stylized lotuses engraved and bright-cut on the blade of this fish knife and pierced on the bowl of the matching fish fork (1992.12.2) contrast with rectangular grips and conical finials that terminate the bold handles.
Adapted from
Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 64, 331.
Fun Facts
- The original leather box, labeled WM. WILSON MCGREW / JEWELLER / & / SILVERSMITH / CINCINNATI, survives for this example.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- YouTube~Watch a video about Gorham Manufacturing Company.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read more about Nineteenth-Century American Silver.
Notes
TMS Updates - GeoXrefs - place of origin, and birth and death location, worked in (William Wilson McGrew) - JBA (10/30/2017)
I added George Wilkinson as Designer with prefix "Attributed to" and William Wilson McGrew as retailer per Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 69.
I edited the title according to the Decorative Arts and Design title formats.
I edited, updated, or entered the Provenance, Exhibition History, Bibliography, and Published References fields in TMS.
I added the following as a TMS Text Entry: Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 331.
I pulled the citation from fun facts and am keeping here instead- Excerpt from
Charles L. Venable, "Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor" (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 331. (EAS, 11/22/2017)
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1992: The V. Stephen Vaughan Collection, Chelsea, Massachusetts
From 1992: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1992.7.12.1
source file
object_notes_2_a-0561.xml.nores