Gorham Coin Silver Pitcher Ewer from 1850s

Description

Coin silver pitcher / ewer from mid- to late 1850s by Gorham, retailed by Crosby, Hubbard, & Morse in Boston, measuring 11 1/2'' in height and 7 3/4'' from handle to spout and weighing 37.4 ozt. Handle has exquisite applied decoration, including beads, and there is a inscription to Mary Baldwin Irwin in the front which is inserted in engraved floral and geometric patterns.
During the heyday of American silver manufacturing, approximately 1850–1940, Gorham was highly 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 and the statue of Theodore Roosevelt in New York.
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