Karl F. Leinonen Sterling Silver Boston Arts & Crafts Hammered Centerpiece Bowl

Karl F. Leinonen for Handicraft Shop sterling silver centerpiece bowl, beautifully hand-hammered in Boston Arts & Crafts style, with multiple lobed sides and standing on a stepped base. With an elegant design, it measures 8 1/4'' in diameter by 4'' in height, weighs 24.6 troy ounces, and bears hallmarks as shown. 

Boston established a reputation during the first decades of the twentieth century for small-scale workshops producing high-quality silver hollowware. Handicraft Shop was one such cooperative, established under the aegis of the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston. Early shop members included George Christian Gebelein, whose work favored the colonial-revival style, Seth Ek, F. J. R. Gyllenberg, Mary C. Knight, and C. G. Forssen.
Shop member Karl Leinonen (1866-1957) was born in Finland, where he apprenticed for five years and worked five more as a silversmith before immigrating to Boston in 1893. He joined Handicraft Shop when it was founded in 1901 and became a long-standing member, serving as supervisor. He created work independently as well as with other members, including Ek, Knight, and his son K. Edwin Leinonen. Karl Leinonen was elected a craftsman of the society in 1901 and in 1918 was elected a medalist, its highest honor.
Leinonen was an active participant in the era’s exhibitions, beginning with the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, in which he collaborated with Knight. He showed his work independently at several exhibitions held by the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his son K. Edwin, exhibited together as Karl F. Leinonen and Son in the exhibition held at Boston’s Horticultural Hall in 1930. His work is now present in the collections of several prestigious museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago. 

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