GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This tureen and stand were originally part of a 129 piece table service commissioned by William Andrews Clark (1839-1925), who served as a senator from Montana from 1901 to 1907. While Clark had extensive properties in Montana, this service was commissioned for his Louis XIV-style residence in New York City. To complement the house, the design of the tureen and stand was inspired by 17th-century European silver. The grotesque masks, paw feet, and bands of fruit and flowers were all derived from this earlier work. The use of this historical ornamentation on a conservative shape in 1910 is most interesting, Although the reductivist aesthetics of the Arts and Crafts Movement were at their height in the United States at that time, this tureen and stand demonstrate that the vast majority of Americans were not interested in that more restrained style, but rather believed historical styles to be far more beautiful and desirable.
The Clark commission was one of Gorham's most important. Not only did the firm's chief designer execute the drawings for the service but also its finest workmen labored on it for over two years. The tureen and stand alone required 1,056 man-hours to create. Consequently, Clark paid dearly for these two pieces; the retail cost is believed to have been over $2,100.
Adapted from
Charles L. Venable, "Tureen on stand," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Jay Gates (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 248.
NOTES
TMS Updates - Text entry and GeoXrefs - place of origin and retailed in, worked in and place of birth (Axel Herman Staf), birth location and worked in (Franz Ziegler) - JBA (10/23/2017)
I removed silver grade and techniques from the Medium field in TMS. Techniques are listed as tags.
I added silversmiths Axel Herman Staf and Franz F. Ziegler and chaser Otto Colmetz, listed in Samuel J. Hough's "Report on Gorham Tureen PGR and Tureen Stand PGS," to the Constituents field in TMS.
I edited, updated, or entered the Provenance, Exhibition History, Bibliography, and Published References fields in TMS.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
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PROVENANCE
From 1910: William Andrews Clark (1939-1925), New York, New York, purchased from Spaulding & Company, Chicago, Illinois [1]
Mid 1940s-1996: Bertram Wolfson, Gloucester, Massachusetts [2]
1996: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
[1] Samuel J. Hough, "Report on Gorham Tureen PGR & Tureen Stand PGS" (undated, in Collections Records Object File)
[2] In a handwritten letter to Dallas Museum of Art curator Charles L. Venable, dealer Bertram Wolfson notes that he purchased 1996.51.A-C in 1946 or 1947 (dated March 19, 1996, in Collections Reccords Object File)
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YouTube~Watch a video about Gorham Manufacturing Company
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Apply to objects where number equals 1996.51.A-C
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General Description
This tureen and stand were originally part of a 129 piece table service commissioned by William Andrews Clark (1839-1925), who served as a senator from Montana from 1901 to 1907. While Clark had extensive properties in Montana, this service was commissioned for his Louis XIV-style residence in New York City. To complement the house, the design of the tureen and stand was inspired by 17th-century European silver. The grotesque masks, paw feet, and bands of fruit and flowers were all derived from this earlier work. The use of this historical ornamentation on a conservative shape in 1910 is most interesting, Although the reductivist aesthetics of the Arts and Crafts Movement were at their height in the United States at that time, this tureen and stand demonstrate that the vast majority of Americans were not interested in that more restrained style, but rather believed historical styles to be far more beautiful and desirable.
The Clark commission was one of Gorham's most important. Not only did the firm's chief designer execute the drawings for the service but also its finest workmen labored on it for over two years. The tureen and stand alone required 1,056 man-hours to create. Consequently, Clark paid dearly for these two pieces; the retail cost is believed to have been over $2,100.
Adapted from
Charles L. Venable, "Tureen on stand," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Jay Gates (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 248.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
TMS Updates - Text entry and GeoXrefs - place of origin and retailed in, worked in and place of birth (Axel Herman Staf), birth location and worked in (Franz Ziegler) - JBA (10/23/2017)
I removed silver grade and techniques from the Medium field in TMS. Techniques are listed as tags.
I added silversmiths Axel Herman Staf and Franz F. Ziegler and chaser Otto Colmetz, listed in Samuel J. Hough's "Report on Gorham Tureen PGR and Tureen Stand PGS," to the Constituents field in TMS.
I edited, updated, or entered the Provenance, Exhibition History, Bibliography, and Published References fields in TMS.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1910: William Andrews Clark (1939-1925), New York, New York, purchased from Spaulding & Company, Chicago, Illinois [1]
Mid 1940s-1996: Bertram Wolfson, Gloucester, Massachusetts [2]
1996: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
[1] Samuel J. Hough, "Report on Gorham Tureen PGR & Tureen Stand PGS" (undated, in Collections Records Object File)
[2] In a handwritten letter to Dallas Museum of Art curator Charles L. Venable, dealer Bertram Wolfson notes that he purchased 1996.51.A-C in 1946 or 1947 (dated March 19, 1996, in Collections Reccords Object File)
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