- 134
Dorothy Fitch Schlaepfer
Estimate
7,000 - 9,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Dorothy Fitch Schlaepfer
- Pedestal Bowl
- engraved D.F.S. fecit 1933
- hand-wrought silver
Literature
Robert J. Clark, ed., Design in America: The Cranbrook Vision 1925-1950, Detroit, 1983, pp. 152 and 160-162 (for Cranbrook’s silver workshop executing Saarinen’s designs)
John Stuart Gordon, A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 2011, pp. 287-288 (for versions of Saarinen’s earlier silver centerpiece executed by the International Silver Company)
Rosemarie Haag-Bletter, Craft in the Machine Age, 1920-1945: The History of Twentieth-Century American Craft, New York, 1995, pp. 129-130 and 181 (for Saarinen’s pedestal bowl design executed by Arthur Nevill Kirk)
John Stuart Gordon, A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 2011, pp. 287-288 (for versions of Saarinen’s earlier silver centerpiece executed by the International Silver Company)
Rosemarie Haag-Bletter, Craft in the Machine Age, 1920-1945: The History of Twentieth-Century American Craft, New York, 1995, pp. 129-130 and 181 (for Saarinen’s pedestal bowl design executed by Arthur Nevill Kirk)
Condition
Overall very good original condition with a few very minor scratches to the surface that are consistent with age and gentle handling. The bowl presents with a beautifully hand-wrought surface with an sophisticated hammered decoration to the surface. The metal surfaces with some very small and minor areas of rubbing localized to the recessed areas of the fluted pedestal, and some very minor tarnishing to the surface in the recessed edges of the base. This is a strong example of the metalwork emerging from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the 1930s showing the influence of Eliel Saarinen's design teachings.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
The present lot embodies the design ideas of the renowned Finnish émigré architect and designer, Eliel Saarinen, during his time developing the Cranbrook community. Cranbrook was founded in 1924 by George G. Booth, and Saarinen was the leading design influence in the school's curriculum. The silver workshop was established in 1929 and was headed by Arthur Nevill Kirk, who, with his assistants, executed silver based on Saarinen’s designs. Dorothy Schlaepfer, a student at Cranbrook, made this pedestal bowl in 1933, and its austere form and hint of classicism in the fluted pedestal recalls Saarinen's silver pedestal bowl designs.