Pitcher and Tray
Maker
Gorham Manufacturing Company
(American, founded 1831)
Date1893
MediumSilver
DimensionsOverall: 16 1/4 x 12in. (41.3 x 30.5cm)
ClassificationsCULINARY ARTIFACTS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number2002.5.a-b
DescriptionPitcher with repousse chased Renaissance-inspired strap work, masks, birds, and garland. Center of body with scene from the Odyssey where Odysseus and his men are at the cave of the Cyclops. Bacchus' head repousse chased on underside of spout. Cast handle in form of Bacchus. Circular tray (underplate) ornamented with acanthus leaves.On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextArtisans at the Gorham Manufacturing Company created this pitcher and tray in 1893 for display at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The elaborate and finely rendered Renaissance revival-style decoration features detailed swags, strap work, and mythical characters. According to Gorham Company records, it took sixty hours to fashion the pitcher and 215 hours for the chaser to execute the ornamentation. The scene depicted is drawn from Homer's epic Greek poem The Odyssey. Here the Cyclops, Polyphemus, holds Odysseus and his men captive. To escape, the men blind Polyphemus after he has fallen into a drunken slumber.
ATD
