Gorham Manufacturing Company
Serving Spoon
1871
Physical Qualities
Sterling silver, 11 x 2 3/8 x 2 1/2 in. (27.9 x 6 x 6.4 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased as the gift of the Friends of the American Wing in Honor of their 40th Anniversary
Object Number
2010.16.2
Following the discovery of Nevada’s Comstock Lode in 1859, silver was plentiful, becoming even cheaper after Congress embraced the gold standard in 1873. Sparing no expense, silversmiths relied on multiple techniques to make splendid objects like this ice bowl and spoon populated by polar bears. Publicity over the 1867 Alaska purchase, along with the Victorians’ taste for cold drinks, stimulated Gorham’s extravagant design. With its geographic theme and its lavish use of silver, this table decoration expresses America’s global ambitions, both political and economic.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 2010; Margot Johnson, New York
Baltimore Museum of Art. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum. Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
Inscribed: VERSO: Engraved on back of bowl "MTC [?]"
Markings: Marked on reverse of bowl "10" "lion" "anchor" "G" "Sterling"
