GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Beginning in the 1850s, Neoclassicism was bolstered by American silver designers who adopted a figural style developed by their English counterparts, such as Paul Storr, in the 1820s and 1830s. The use of three-dimensional classical figures was most common in pieces with strong vertical elements, such as centerpieces and compotes. Clothed in drapery and positioned in contrapposto atop a celestial sphere, a female figure functions as the stem of this fruit stand designed by Gorham Manufacturing Company chief designer George Wilkinson. Perched on the handles are figures representing Vulcan, the blacksmith of the gods, and Apollo, the sun god, as children. Other details, such as the band of ivy leaves punctuated by cameos on the base and the series of astrological symbols on the globe, further evoke ancient Greece and Rome.
Gorham publicized this model (no. 164), one of several variations, with a woodcut distributed to numerous publications including American Silverware. As a result of its popularity, competitor Ball, Black & Company produced a smaller and simpler adaptation without the globe and with cast birds on the handles.
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), 61, 330.
- Charles Venable, "The World On Her Table: American Silver at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1850-1900," in Tri Delta Charity Antiques Show (1989): 95.
- Mary Ann Steiner, ed, "American Silver," in The Bulletin of The Saint Louis Art Museum Volume XVII Number 1 (Winter 1984), 44.
NOTES
TMS Update - GeoXref - place of origin - 10/19/2017 (JBA)
formatted sources, added CCs, and tags - 9/1/17 (JBA)
I removed techniques ("cast, spun") from the Medium display field in TMS and added them as Getty Vocabularies terms.
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), 330.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1991: The Charles R. Masling and John E. Furen Collection, Houston, Texas
From 1991: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Birmingham Museum of Art~English silversmith Paul Storr's figural style influenced American designers like George Wilkinson. View a Paul Storr centerpiece with three female figures at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
- Saint Louis Art Museum~View an example of the Ball, Black & Co. adaptation at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
- Brown University Library, The Gorham Company Archive~The Gorham Company Archive includes a working drawing and a photograph of model no. 164, both reproduced in David B. Warren, Katherine S. Howe, and Michael K. Brown, Marks of Achievement: Four Centuries of American Presentation Silver (Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; New York: In association with Harry N. Abrams, 1987), 97.
- YouTube~Watch a video about Gorham Manufacturing Company
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
In 1866, merchant George Peabody presented an enormous service, including another example of this model (no. 164), to Cyrus Field, financier of the recently completed transatlantic cable, which enabled telegraphic communication between the United States and Europe. This example, now at the Museum of the City of New York, is personalized with cameos of Peabody and Field and inscribed "George Peabody to Cyrus W. Field in testimony and commemoration of an act of very high commercial integrity and honor. New York, 24 Nov. 1866."
Source
David B. Warren, Katherine S. Howe, and Michael K. Brown, Marks of Achievement: Four Centuries of American Presentation Silver (Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; New York: In association with Harry N. Abrams, 1987), 97.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1991.101.17
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
Beginning in the 1850s, Neoclassicism was bolstered by American silver designers who adopted a figural style developed by their English counterparts, such as Paul Storr, in the 1820s and 1830s. The use of three-dimensional classical figures was most common in pieces with strong vertical elements, such as centerpieces and compotes. Clothed in drapery and positioned in contrapposto atop a celestial sphere, a female figure functions as the stem of this fruit stand designed by Gorham Manufacturing Company chief designer George Wilkinson. Perched on the handles are figures representing Vulcan, the blacksmith of the gods, and Apollo, the sun god, as children. Other details, such as the band of ivy leaves punctuated by cameos on the base and the series of astrological symbols on the globe, further evoke ancient Greece and Rome.
Gorham publicized this model (no. 164), one of several variations, with a woodcut distributed to numerous publications including American Silverware. As a result of its popularity, competitor Ball, Black & Company produced a smaller and simpler adaptation without the globe and with cast birds on the handles.
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), 61, 330.
- Charles Venable, "The World On Her Table: American Silver at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1850-1900," in Tri Delta Charity Antiques Show (1989): 95.
- Mary Ann Steiner, ed, "American Silver," in The Bulletin of The Saint Louis Art Museum Volume XVII Number 1 (Winter 1984), 44.
Fun Facts
In 1866, merchant George Peabody presented an enormous service, including another example of this model (no. 164), to Cyrus Field, financier of the recently completed transatlantic cable, which enabled telegraphic communication between the United States and Europe. This example, now at the Museum of the City of New York, is personalized with cameos of Peabody and Field and inscribed "George Peabody to Cyrus W. Field in testimony and commemoration of an act of very high commercial integrity and honor. New York, 24 Nov. 1866."
Source
David B. Warren, Katherine S. Howe, and Michael K. Brown, Marks of Achievement: Four Centuries of American Presentation Silver (Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; New York: In association with Harry N. Abrams, 1987), 97.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Birmingham Museum of Art~English silversmith Paul Storr's figural style influenced American designers like George Wilkinson. View a Paul Storr centerpiece with three female figures at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
- Saint Louis Art Museum~View an example of the Ball, Black & Co. adaptation at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
- Brown University Library, The Gorham Company Archive~The Gorham Company Archive includes a working drawing and a photograph of model no. 164, both reproduced in David B. Warren, Katherine S. Howe, and Michael K. Brown, Marks of Achievement: Four Centuries of American Presentation Silver (Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; New York: In association with Harry N. Abrams, 1987), 97.
- YouTube~Watch a video about Gorham Manufacturing Company
Notes
TMS Update - GeoXref - place of origin - 10/19/2017 (JBA)
formatted sources, added CCs, and tags - 9/1/17 (JBA)
I removed techniques ("cast, spun") from the Medium display field in TMS and added them as Getty Vocabularies terms.
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), 330.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1991: The Charles R. Masling and John E. Furen Collection, Houston, Texas
From 1991: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1991.101.17
source file
object_notes_2_b-0020.xml.nores