Rare Gorham Coin Silver Medallion 5-Piece Tea & Coffee Set on Tray from 1860s
Rare Gorham coin silver 5-piece tea and coffee set, in the celebrated Medallion pattern, from the 1860s, consisting of:
- a coffeepot measuring 12'' in height by 9'' from handle to spout
- a teapot measuring 8'' in height by 9 1/2'' from handle to spout
- a creamer measuring 8'' in height by 4'' from handle to spout
- a covered sugar bowl measuring 8'' from handle to handle by 7'' in height
- a waste bowl measuring 5 3/8'' in diameter by 4'' in height
Total weight is 105 troy ounces and hallmarks are shown. It is sold on an associated, silver plate tray, which measures 25 1/2'' from handle to handle (22'' without the handles) by 16 1/2'' in width.
During the heyday of American silver manufacturing–approximately 1850 to 1940–Gorham was one of the most influential. The White House has used Gorham silver services during many administrations. Mary Todd Lincoln purchased an impressive tea and flatware service for use in the White House in 1859. Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant asked Gorham to commemorate the country's one-hundredth anniversary with a spectacular Century Vase that contained over 2,000 oz (57,000 g) of sterling silver, and in 1899, it produced a grand "loving cup" composed of 70,000 dimes was designed for Admiral George Dewey. Colonel Henry Jewett Furber placed the largest single commission Gorham ever received for what became known as the famous Furber service. The opulent 740-piece service represents Victorian era dining at its most elaborate. The monumental silver and parcel-gilt "Neptune" epergne made for Furber as part of this service was displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. Gorham artisans also sculpted the famous monument of George Washington in the Capitol's Rotunda.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has in its permanent collection and on display a smaller Gorham medallion tea set, with the same pattern number as ours (211) for which they write: "The mid-nineteenth century witnessed an efflorescence of creativity in the American silver industry, fueled by the burgeoning middle class’s increasing demand for refined luxury goods. Silversmiths devoted considerable time and creative energy to generating an endless variety of new designs and patterns. During the 1860s and 1870s silver flatware ornamented with portrait medallions inspired by antique coins and cameos enjoyed widespread popularity, with virtually every American silversmith producing their own proprietary "medallion" pattern. Gorham Manufacturing Company’s designer George Wilkinson patented a medallion flatware pattern in 1864, and the quantity and variety of surviving silver in this pattern attest to its success."
In his book "Gorham Silver," Charles H. Carpenter evokes George Wilkinson, who was born and trained in England, prior to moving to the United States in 1854, where he spent the majority of his career at Gorham. He notes that, while the Medallion pattern was initially for flatware, hollowware designs quickly followed, "particularly in tea and coffee services." A similar coffeepot is illustrated and he writes that it shows "the Gorham designer's careful use of plain surfaces to emphasize and show off the decorative details."
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