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Lot Essay
The Martele records indicate this sample vase was produced in 1897, before Gorham's art nouveau line was unveiled internationally at the Paris Exposition in 1900. In late 1896, the Gorham Mfg. Co., which had successfully capitalized upon highly mechanized production, created a line of hand-made silver. Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement in England and North America, Martele silver was to be produced without the aid of machinery and with the input of the designer and craftsman. The designs for Martele were largely the work of Gorham's talented chief designer, William Christmas Codman (1839-1923), and his work was executed by the firm's highly-skilled chasers. The resulting silver was created almost exclusively in the Art Nouveau aesthetic. This costly and prestigious line was produced in limited quantities. For example, this punch bowl required 75 hours to fashion and an additional 150 hours to complete the chased decoration. The factory cost of the punch bowl was $400.
This punch bowl relates most closely to another of the same date and production cost, which featured a faun's head, the handle with heads of tigers and the base formed as heads of seals (See: Pristo, Martele, illus. p. 18)
Figural decoration on Martele silver is rare. The select group of Martele figural pieces includes the Night Vase, which post-dates the present lot by two years and sold at Christie's, New York, January 15-16, 2004, lot 103; a pair of candelabra and ewer and basin made for the St. Louis World's Fair, 1904; and two side dishes dating to 1907. A jardiniere featuring nude females and a Venus and Neptune centerpiece date to 1903 and 1906, respectively. (See: L. J. Pristo, Martele: Gorham's Nouveau Art Silver, 2002; John W. Keefe and Samuel J. Hough, Magnificent Marvelous Martele, 2001).
This punch bowl relates most closely to another of the same date and production cost, which featured a faun's head, the handle with heads of tigers and the base formed as heads of seals (See: Pristo, Martele, illus. p. 18)
Figural decoration on Martele silver is rare. The select group of Martele figural pieces includes the Night Vase, which post-dates the present lot by two years and sold at Christie's, New York, January 15-16, 2004, lot 103; a pair of candelabra and ewer and basin made for the St. Louis World's Fair, 1904; and two side dishes dating to 1907. A jardiniere featuring nude females and a Venus and Neptune centerpiece date to 1903 and 1906, respectively. (See: L. J. Pristo, Martele: Gorham's Nouveau Art Silver, 2002; John W. Keefe and Samuel J. Hough, Magnificent Marvelous Martele, 2001).