GENERAL DESCRIPTION
At the 1900 Paris World’s Fair, Gorham Manufacturing Company introduced a limited production line of handwrought wares named Martelé, the French word for "hammered." In the spirit of the British Arts and Crafts movement, each Martelé design was raised, chased, and finished by hand, processes evident in conspicuous hammer marks. While Gorham utilized methods of production based on 19th-century precepts, it rejected styles of the past in favor of a fashion that evoked the new century: Art Nouveau. Chief Designer William C. Codman and other designers applied Art Nouveau details, such as exuberant handles and everted feet and lips with undulating edges, and decorations, such as organic ornament, to traditional forms at once progressive, yet palatable to conservative American consumers.
George W. Sauthof, a talented chaser first employed by Tiffany & Co. before he joined Gorham in 1889, labored approximately forty-eight hours to complete the chased decor on each of these Martelé compotes.
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), 251-258.
- Samuel J. Hough, DMA unpublished material.
NOTES
TMS Update - GeoXRef - place of origin - JBA (10/17/2017)
formatted and updated sources - 9/1 - (JBA)
I updated the title of the object in TMS to include the acute accent mark and carets to indicate italics.
I removed techniques from the Medium fields in TMS. Techniques are listed as tags.
I added chaser George W. Sauthof, listed in Samuel J. Hough's "Report on Gorham Martelé Compote PUT," to the Constituents field in TMS.
I changed .9854 to .9584 and LFM to LBL in the Inscriptions field in TMS based on handwritten note on "Object Summary" (dated March 4, 1999, copy in Collections Records Object File)
I added "Circa 1900: Design at the Turn of the Century" label copy to TMS as a Text Entry.
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
Until 1995: The Oberod Collection, Centerville, Delaware [1]
From 1995: Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift
[1] See Collections Records Digital Objects File.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
YouTube~Watch a video about Gorham Manufacturing Company
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
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Apply to objects where number equals 1995.63.1
Apply to objects where number equals 1995.63.2
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General Description
At the 1900 Paris World’s Fair, Gorham Manufacturing Company introduced a limited production line of handwrought wares named Martelé, the French word for "hammered." In the spirit of the British Arts and Crafts movement, each Martelé design was raised, chased, and finished by hand, processes evident in conspicuous hammer marks. While Gorham utilized methods of production based on 19th-century precepts, it rejected styles of the past in favor of a fashion that evoked the new century: Art Nouveau. Chief Designer William C. Codman and other designers applied Art Nouveau details, such as exuberant handles and everted feet and lips with undulating edges, and decorations, such as organic ornament, to traditional forms at once progressive, yet palatable to conservative American consumers.
George W. Sauthof, a talented chaser first employed by Tiffany & Co. before he joined Gorham in 1889, labored approximately forty-eight hours to complete the chased decor on each of these Martelé compotes.
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), 251-258.
- Samuel J. Hough, DMA unpublished material.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
TMS Update - GeoXRef - place of origin - JBA (10/17/2017)
formatted and updated sources - 9/1 - (JBA)
I updated the title of the object in TMS to include the acute accent mark and carets to indicate italics.
I removed techniques from the Medium fields in TMS. Techniques are listed as tags.
I added chaser George W. Sauthof, listed in Samuel J. Hough's "Report on Gorham Martelé Compote PUT," to the Constituents field in TMS.
I changed .9854 to .9584 and LFM to LBL in the Inscriptions field in TMS based on handwritten note on "Object Summary" (dated March 4, 1999, copy in Collections Records Object File)
I added "Circa 1900: Design at the Turn of the Century" label copy to TMS as a Text Entry.
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
Until 1995: The Oberod Collection, Centerville, Delaware [1]
From 1995: Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift
[1] See Collections Records Digital Objects File.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1995.63.1
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1995.63.2
source file
object_notes_2_b-0029.xml.nores