GENERAL DESCRIPTION
As a result of the desire for order and hierarchy in an increasingly chaotic, industrialized society, 19th-century Americans were extraordinarily fastidious about the consumption of food. This dynamic, coupled with the introduction of new foods into the American diet, prompted the development of new, specialized flatware forms and accompanying rules of etiquette. The ability to execute properly the maneuvers required of such tools was a sign of elevated economic and social status.
This pair of tongs (1991.13.1 and 1991.13.2), produced by the Philadelphia firm of Bailey & Co., was used not for serving, but for eating asparagus, which first appeared with frequency in the 1850s. Each guest at a formal dinner would be provided tongs with which to pick up spears of asparagus without soiling his or her gloves.
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), 136-138, 339.
NOTES
TMS Updates - GeoXRefs place of origin and place of business - JBA (10/19/2017)
updated rule and added canonical links, added tags - 9/6 (JBA)
I removed a technique ("bright-cut") from the Medium display field in TMS and added it as a Getty Vocabulary term.
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), 339.
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 1991: Phyllis Tucker Antiques (Phyllis Tucker), Houston, Texas
From 1991: 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
set operator as or
Apply to objects where number equals 1991.13.1
Apply to objects where number equals 1991.13.2
Category
rules_operator
OR
General Description
As a result of the desire for order and hierarchy in an increasingly chaotic, industrialized society, 19th-century Americans were extraordinarily fastidious about the consumption of food. This dynamic, coupled with the introduction of new foods into the American diet, prompted the development of new, specialized flatware forms and accompanying rules of etiquette. The ability to execute properly the maneuvers required of such tools was a sign of elevated economic and social status.
This pair of tongs (1991.13.1 and 1991.13.2), produced by the Philadelphia firm of Bailey & Co., was used not for serving, but for eating asparagus, which first appeared with frequency in the 1850s. Each guest at a formal dinner would be provided tongs with which to pick up spears of asparagus without soiling his or her gloves.
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), 136-138, 339.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
TMS Updates - GeoXRefs place of origin and place of business - JBA (10/19/2017)
updated rule and added canonical links, added tags - 9/6 (JBA)
I removed a technique ("bright-cut") from the Medium display field in TMS and added it as a Getty Vocabulary term.
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), 339.
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 1991: Phyllis Tucker Antiques (Phyllis Tucker), Houston, Texas
From 1991: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1991.13.1
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1991.13.2
source file
object_notes_2_a-0599.xml.nores