GENERAL DESCRIPTION
John Rudolf Wendt (1826-1907) was one of the United States' finest silversmiths during the 1860s and 1870s. Born and trained in Germany, Wendt produced many exceptional objects in the Neoclassical taste. The form of this pitcher is inspired by ancient Greek ceramic wine vessels called oinochoe excavated in the 18th and 19th centuries. Wendt's specialty of cast ornament is evident in the lion's head on the handle and the medallions on either side of the body. The medallions are based directly on a silver coin minted at Alexandra in Egypt in the 4th century B.C.E. that depicts a deified Alexander with the ram horns of the Egyptian diety Amun, an elephant skin cap, and the goat skin of Athena.
Drawn from
- Label text [1989.99], Arts of the Americas.
- DMA unpublished material.
- Nikolaos Gialourè„s, The Search for Alexander: An Exhibition (Boston: Published with the cooperation of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sciences by New York Graphic Society, 1980), 108.
NOTES
TMS Updates - GeoXrefs - worked in, birth and death place, place of origin, retailer - JBA (10/19/2017)
Added CC, Update format, added image, updated sources - 8/31 (JBA)
I removed techniques ("cast, wrought, engraved") from the Medium field in TMS.
I updated nationality and birth/death dates for John R. Wendt in the Constituents module.
I edited, updated, or entered the Provenance, Exhibition History, Bibliography, and Published References fields in TMS.
I added the following as a TMS Text Entries
- 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), 326.
- Label copy
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1989: R & P Kassai (Peter T. Kassai), New York, New York
From 1989: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
Art Institute of Chicago~The shape of this John R. Wendt pitcher is based on an oinoche, an ancient Greek ceramic wine vessel. View an example in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Museum of Fine Arts Boston~An ancient Egyptian coin called a tetradrachm inspired the medallion on the pitcher. View an example in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1989.99
Category
rules_operator
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General Description
John Rudolf Wendt (1826-1907) was one of the United States' finest silversmiths during the 1860s and 1870s. Born and trained in Germany, Wendt produced many exceptional objects in the Neoclassical taste. The form of this pitcher is inspired by ancient Greek ceramic wine vessels called oinochoe excavated in the 18th and 19th centuries. Wendt's specialty of cast ornament is evident in the lion's head on the handle and the medallions on either side of the body. The medallions are based directly on a silver coin minted at Alexandra in Egypt in the 4th century B.C.E. that depicts a deified Alexander with the ram horns of the Egyptian diety Amun, an elephant skin cap, and the goat skin of Athena.
Drawn from
- Label text [1989.99], Arts of the Americas.
- DMA unpublished material.
- Nikolaos Gialourè„s, The Search for Alexander: An Exhibition (Boston: Published with the cooperation of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sciences by New York Graphic Society, 1980), 108.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Art Institute of Chicago~The shape of this John R. Wendt pitcher is based on an oinoche, an ancient Greek ceramic wine vessel. View an example in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Museum of Fine Arts Boston~An ancient Egyptian coin called a tetradrachm inspired the medallion on the pitcher. View an example in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Notes
TMS Updates - GeoXrefs - worked in, birth and death place, place of origin, retailer - JBA (10/19/2017)
Added CC, Update format, added image, updated sources - 8/31 (JBA)
I removed techniques ("cast, wrought, engraved") from the Medium field in TMS.
I updated nationality and birth/death dates for John R. Wendt in the Constituents module.
I edited, updated, or entered the Provenance, Exhibition History, Bibliography, and Published References fields in TMS.
I added the following as a TMS Text Entries
- 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), 326.
- Label copy
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1989: R & P Kassai (Peter T. Kassai), New York, New York
From 1989: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1989.99
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object_notes_4_a-0402.xml.nores