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Lot Essay
Erik Magnussen was a well-established Danish designer when he was hired by Gorham in 1925 to create silver in a modern style. Magnussen's work in the 1920s combined traditional motifs with modern design. Animal and marine motifs figure in some of Magnussen's more light-hearted designs of this era.
According to Gorham scholar Sam Hough, this bowl was completed in April 1929 and is unique in its design. Magnussen designed the bowl, personally applied the gilding and gave the piece its finish. The elephants were cast by Franz Ziegler. In total, the cost of the bowl was $192.78 and it was retailed for $300.00.
This bowl appears to be one of Magnussen's larger animal-inspired pieces. Two smaller bonbon vessels with giraffe supports are illustrated in Jewel Stern, Modernism in American Silver: 20th Century Design, 2005, p. 28, illus. p. 88 and Sotheby's, New York, 20 January 2006, lot 51.
According to Gorham scholar Sam Hough, this bowl was completed in April 1929 and is unique in its design. Magnussen designed the bowl, personally applied the gilding and gave the piece its finish. The elephants were cast by Franz Ziegler. In total, the cost of the bowl was $192.78 and it was retailed for $300.00.
This bowl appears to be one of Magnussen's larger animal-inspired pieces. Two smaller bonbon vessels with giraffe supports are illustrated in Jewel Stern, Modernism in American Silver: 20th Century Design, 2005, p. 28, illus. p. 88 and Sotheby's, New York, 20 January 2006, lot 51.