Martele Silver Coffee Service

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Martele Silver Coffee Service

About the Item

In 1891, the Gorham Company hired William C. Codman to serve as chief designer and under his direction, they introduced a line of hand-wrought silver that would take the world by storm. The lavish new line was dubbed Martelé, meaning "to hammer" in French. They introduced the line in 1900 at the Paris Exposition Universelle where it was met with critical acclaim. This rare four-piece Martelé sterling coffee service by Gorham, according to factory records, required an amazing 356 hours to craft. Inspired by the Art Nouveau movement, Martelé silver became the crowning achievement for a company already rich with the rewards of their work. Martelé pieces were very labor intensive, entirely hand-crafted by only the finest smiths at the Gorham Company and were made in very limited quantities. Examples of superior Martelé continue to be among the most highly collected silver in the world. Dated 1912. Tray: 21 1/4" wide x 14 1/2" deep. Coffee pot: 10 1/2" high. The service is described as follows in Martelé: Gorham's Art Nouveau Silver by Larry J. Pristo, page 444. The three hollow pieces were all formed by Henry J. Barker, who required 64, 24 and 30 hours respectively for the coffee pot, sugar bowl and creamer. They then received what the company work order slip calls 'thorn apple' decoration. William Thompson spent just over 88 hours on the coffee pot, Emil Stursberg 40 hours on the sugar bowl and Karl Wendt 33 1/2 hours on the creamer. William Thompson also decorated the tray for 77 hours, after it was formed by John M. Sorum. The tray slip is dated March 16, 1912, the other pieces April 13th of that year." References: Magnificent, Marvelous Martelé: American Art Nouveau Silver from the Jolie and Robert Shelton Collection, 2001, John Keefe and Samuel Hough.

Creator:
Gorham Manufacturing Company (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Width: 21.25 in (53.98 cm)Depth: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 4
Style:
Art Nouveau (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Sterling Silver
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1912
Condition:
Seller Location:
New Orleans, LA
Reference Number:
Seller: 28-70661stDibs: LU89115129263

Shop All Gorham Manufacturing Company

Gorham Manufacturing Company

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.