1992.7.2 George W. Shiebler Grass butter pick



GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Due to its price and perishability, butter remained a luxury item used sparingly throughout the 19th century. As a result, manufacturers developed butter picks with which a host or servant would apportion pats of butter to guests. Shaped like a single blade of grass terminated by intertwined roots that function as handle and tines respectively, this pick reflects the influence of metalwork of Meiji period Japan, characterized by a fusion of naturalism and functionalism, as well as the innovation of designer George Shiebler.

Drawn 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), 128, 140-141, 339. 
  • Hannah Sigur, The Influence of Japanese Art on Design (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2008), 160. 

NOTES
TMS Update - Geo XRefs - place of origin - JBA (10/26/2017)

I updated the title in TMS according to Decorative Arts and Design Title Formats. 

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), 338. 

I updated Provenance, Exhibition History, and Published References in TMS. 

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
Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read more about Nineteenth-Century American Silver.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1992.7.2

Category
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General Description
Due to its price and perishability, butter remained a luxury item used sparingly throughout the 19th century. As a result, manufacturers developed butter picks with which a host or servant would apportion pats of butter to guests. Shaped like a single blade of grass terminated by intertwined roots that function as handle and tines respectively, this pick reflects the influence of metalwork of Meiji period Japan, characterized by a fusion of naturalism and functionalism, as well as the innovation of designer George Shiebler.

Drawn 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), 128, 140-141, 339. 
  • Hannah Sigur, The Influence of Japanese Art on Design (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2008), 160. 

Fun Facts

Archival Resources

Web Resources
Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read more about Nineteenth-Century American Silver.

Notes
TMS Update - Geo XRefs - place of origin - JBA (10/26/2017)

I updated the title in TMS according to Decorative Arts and Design Title Formats. 

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), 338. 

I updated Provenance, Exhibition History, and Published References in TMS. 

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
1992.7.2
tags
#draft
#completed
%copyedited_Gail
United States (nation): TGN: 7012149
*Decorative Arts and Design
decorative arts: AAT: 300054168
butter: AAT: 300389819
shiny (shine): AAT: 300065244
silver (metal): AAT: 300011029
naturalism (artistic form of expression): AAT: 300311115
plant-derived motifs: AAT: 300164599
Japonisme: AAT: 300055785
New York (New York/United States): TGN: 7007567
@Robinson
grasses (plants): AAT: 300132397
Shiebler_George: DMA
picks (tools): AAT: 300024830
roots (plant components): AAT: 300400480
George W. Shiebler & Co.: DMA
functionalism: AAT: 300056529
source file
object_notes_2_a-0602.xml.nores