Slop Bowl
Manufacturer
Gorham Manufacturing Company, Providence, Rhode Island
(founded 1831)
Date1886-1888
MediumSilver with gilding
DimensionsOverall: 3 3/8 × 7 1/8 × 4 7/8 inches (8.57 × 18.1 × 12.38 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: the Helen Jane and R. Hugh "Pat" Uhlmann Fund and the John W. Uhlmann Foundation
Object number2006.20.5
Signedmarked with Gorham hallmark on each piece
InscribedInscribed on underside of each vessel "S. J. Sorg"; inscribed on the handle of the tea kettle "Sorg"
MarkingsMarker's mark for Gorham (lion, anchor and "G") on all pieces and a Maltese cross for Gorham's year code for 1886 and stamped "2000"; kettle burner is marked "STERLING" with 8643 on each base's feet
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThis ornately decorated, Persian-style five-piece silver tea service includes a tea kettle on stand, a teapot, lidded sugar basin, creamer and slop bowl. The creamer and slop bowl are gilded in the interior. The tea kettle retains its original sterling burner. All the vessels are decorated in the Near Eastern, or Persian, style. Each piece is a different design although all incorporate swirls, flowers, palmettes and Greek key designs. The kettle has a large looped handle constructed of silver imitating fabric pleats.Gallery LabelMade by the Gorham Manufacturing Company, a leading American silver manufacturer since the 19th century, this tea service was exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle. The service is elaborately decorated in Gorham's Oriental East Indian pattern, derived from contemporary Anglo-Indian silver. The company's adept ability to combine culturally diverse ornament can be seen in the different design of each piece, although all incorporate swirls, flowers, palmettes and lush foliage. The service is a masterpiece of silversmithing, requiring 701 hours of chased work-a technique creating relief decoration-to delineate and define the intricate decorative motifs.
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