Gorham Chantilly Sterling Silver Bowl Centerpiece

For nearly 160 years, the Gorham Manufacturing Company turned out a wide range of beautiful silver flatware, tea sets, serving bowls and other silver pieces, indelibly influencing the field of decorative arts in ways that still resonate.

When silversmiths Jabez Gorham and Henry Webster started making coin silver teaspoons and jewelry out of a small workshop in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1831, the pair likely had no idea that their modest operation would one day become the largest silver manufacturer in the world.

While some name changes and personnel shifts preceded the foundry officially being established as Gorham Manufacturing Company decades later, growth of the business between its early days and the mid–19th century can largely be attributed to the work of Jabez’s son John, who assumed control of Gorham in the 1840s.

John Gorham introduced steam power at the manufactory. He entered into a partnership with Michael Gibney, the first American silversmith to register a design patent for a flatware pattern. Gorham wanted to expand the business, seeking to produce forks and spoons adorned with decorative flourishes adapted from British patterns. The company hammered out the silver flatware, which it sent to Gibney in New York to apply decorative patterns before returning to Gorham. Consequently, Gorham found Gibney’s work unsatisfactory, and he purchased his own rolling press to do the work himself.

The partnership between John and Michael soured but the company thrived. Sales grew to more than $20,000 per year, and the staff of silversmiths expanded. To keep up with demand, Gorham had to retire its horse-powered rolling press and import a steam-powered drop press from England — the first used in the United States. Designs created at Gorham drew on natural-world motifs as well as artistic traditions from all over the world — alongside its tableware, the company would soon be producing cups and pitchers adorned with polar bears and forest creatures, while tea services and other serving pieces were crafted in a range of styles that included Art Nouveau, Egyptian Revival and Rococo.

Around 1860, Gorham delved into bronze casting. When it opened a division dedicated to bronze work, Gorham collaborated with sculptors such as Daniel Chester French, Anna Hyatt Huntington and Alexander P. Proctor.

By the 1920s, Gorham had employed thousands of workers and had partnered with Danish modernist silversmith Erik Magnussen. However, the Great Depression ground production to a halt. The company was sold to Textron, Inc. in the late 1960s and it changed hands several times before it sold to Department 56 in 2005.

Today, the work of Gorham Manufacturing Company continues to be exhibited in galleries and museums. The RISD Museum in Providence houses a collection of nearly 5,000 works.

On 1stDibs, find a range of antique Gorham Manufacturing Company serveware and decorative objects.

A hallmark of design in an entertainment space is the centerpiece. Its main function is to draw the eye to a specific place in the room and promote symmetry. In dining areas, antique, new or vintage centerpieces can bring the entire tablescape of fine fabrics and china together.

A sculptural Art Deco–inspired primrose yellow cake stand is an example of how a singular item can transform the table. The New York– and Los Angeles–based interior designer Alexandra Loew agrees, suggesting that one such 1930s-era Schneider Glass piece, for example, could add a cheerful jolt to any staid dining table. Julia Buckingham, ​​of the Chicago firm Buckingham Interiors + Design, defines her style as “modernique” and shares with 1stDibs a striking dining-room project for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS: white multidimensional art for the walls, monochromatic fabric from Pierre Frey for the dining chairs and large vases that are inspired by antlers for centerpieces, which she created for Global Views..

Centerpieces can be functional to the environment or a conversation starter. Explore a wide variety of antique, new and vintage centerpieces on 1stDibs — there are options for any space in one’s home. And don’t forget, unique centerpiece options for your dining table can also include an antique soup tureen brightened with flowers, stemless drinkware and other glass with flower heads, decorative vases and vessels and more.