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Gorham Manufacturing Company

Water Pitcher

Maker

Gorham Manufacturing Company (American, 1831-present), manufacturer

Title

Water Pitcher
Furber Service

Year

1878

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

gilding, silver

Geography

Place Made: Providence; Place Made: Rhode Island

Dimensions

16 x 18 x 10.7 cm (6 5/16 x 7 1/16 x 4 3/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Marks: Marked: [lion] [anchor] G / STERLING / 936 / K

Credit / Object Number

Credit

The Gorham Collection. Gift of Textron Inc.

Object Number

1991.126.48

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Gorham Silver
Designing Brilliance 1850-1970
May 03, 2019 – Dec 01, 2019
Making It In America
Oct 11, 2013 – Feb 09, 2014

Label copy

After Commodore Perry of the U.S. Navy pressed Japan to open trade with the West in 1854, a flood of Japanese decorative arts reached American shores. A mania for Japanese design followed, and in the 1870s and 1880s played a significant role in the development of the American Aesthetic movement. The simplicity, exoticism, and naturalism found in Japanese design were considered particularly avant-garde and innovative in 19th-century America.

The exterior decorations of the pitcher and cups cleverly refer to its contents, depicting a watery lower half which is swimming with fish and turtles while the sky above is populated with butterflies and dragonflies.

After Eden
The Rise and Reform of American Art, 1840-1910
Apr 26, 1996 – Dec 29, 1996

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Gorham Manufacturing Company (American, 1831-present), manufacturer
Water Pitcher; Furber Service, 1878
Silver with gilding
16 x 18 x 10.7 cm (6 5/16 x 7 1/16 x 4 3/16 inches)
The Gorham Collection. Gift of Textron Inc. 1991.126.48

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