Property from the Richard & Jane Manoogian Foundation
St. Louis World's Fair of 1904: An American Silver Martelé Ewer and Plateau, Gorham, Providence, Circa 1903
Auction Closed
January 25, 06:34 PM GMT
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
the ewer of elongated vase form, repoussé and chased, the base on four lobed feet with flowers, buds, and leaves, the bombé body with spiraling ribs, four maidens in swirling drapery, two representing Dawn and Dusk, and with flowers and foliage twining upwards, the neck with a bulbous collar of realistically chased flowers, the trumpet-shaped mouth with turned down lip with leaves and whiplash scrolls, the scroll handle with a cast female head and torso, marked and coded EZH with the St. Louis Exposition mark, the stand with a flat central reserve, dished cavetto and ripple rim, marked and with the St. Louis Exposition mark, stamped capital P underneath rim
230 oz 15 dwt
7177.1 g
overall height 30 in., pitcher height 27 in., plateau diameter 20 in.
76.2cm, 68.6 cm, 50.8 cm
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Sotheby’s, New York, January 20, 1998, lot 19
Property from the Richard & Jane Manoogian Foundation
St. Louis, World’s Fair, 1904
According to Samuel J. Hough, this ewer and basin was one of the centerpieces of Gorham's exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition. An article in The Craftsman proclaims:
...we can allude only in passing to a few objects of special merit or beauty. One of these is a rose-water jug with stand, on which the late Greek form of wine pitcher (œnochœ), with its graceful leaf-mouth, is modified by modern influence, and the female figure, used as a decorative motif, appears with charming effect; following the body, gestures and drapery of the Art Nouveau line, which here indulges in no vagaries and produces an agreeable rhythm. (vol. VII no. 4, January 1905, "Some Recent Examples of Gorham Silverware." p. 459, illustration p. 453).
The ewer required 89 hours to make, then was chased for 548 hours—over nine 60-hour weeks. The plateau took 60 hours to fashion, and 382 hours, or an additional six weeks, to chase. The craftsman was Robert Bain, Gorham's foremost and best-paid chaser. Bain was responsible for only a few exceptional projects each year, such as the Martelé dressing table and stool made for the Paris Exposition of 1900 (Sotheby's New York, January 30, 1991, lot 49). Certainly Bain's labor represented the largest part of the factory prices of $1050 for the ewer and $750 for the plateau.
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