John Pearson / British Arts & Crafts Handwrought copper tea caddy c. 1900
JOHN PEARSON (19th century) UK
Tea caddy c. 1900
Handwrought copper with rivets, repoussé lid with 4 heart-shaped leaves, rich red brown original patina
Marked: JP in an oval cartouche (on bottom)
H: 4 1/2″ x D: 4 1/4″
For more information on Pearson see: CR Ashbee: architect, designer & romantic socialist, Alan Crawford (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985), pp. 32-33, 46, 313-316; Reflections: arts and crafts metalwork in England and the United States (New York: Kurland – Zabar, 1990), pp. 32-33.
Pearson was an original member of CR Ashbee’s Guild of Handicraft starting in 1888. He later resigned to join the Newlyn Industrial Class. He also worked for the designer & ceramicist William De Morgan which is where many of his fanciful themes in repousse are inspired. He is considered one of the finest repousse metalsmiths of the period. His shop remained active until after the turn of the century, most pieces are dated.
Guttierez Vega / South American Art Deco Sterling Modernist Coffee / Tea Set c. 1935
GUTTIEREZ VEGA (active 1930s) Bogotá, Columbia
Four-piece modernist coffee / tea set c. 1935
Radical form cone and triangular shaped four piece sterling silver with bold design exotic handles.
Marks: T.A.N. Sterling (Maker’s mark), serial number F925
Coffee pot H: 5″ x L: 10 1/2″
Teapot H: 4 3/8″ x L: 10 1/2″
Creamer H: 3″ x L: 8″
Sugar bowl H: 4 1/2″ x L: 7 3/4″
In the 1930s, Colombia began to embrace modern and Art Deco architecture. The new Liberal Party government tore down many older buildings to reject the conservative past. In their place, it constructed modern buildings with an international flavor and interiors and decorative arts were designed to complement these newly stylized buildings.
Gorham Sterling “Exotic” Tea and Coffee Set in Original Presentation Chest 1880
GORHAM MFG. CO SILVERSMITHS Providence, RI
“Exotic” tea and coffee set in original Gorham presentation chest 1880
Sterling silver 5-piece service with “butler” finish, bright-cut chasing and repoussé surface in the Far Eastern exotic style with elephant trunk spouts and handle forms, tent-like splayed lids, interior gilding, engraved conjoined initials, bone spacers in the original deep teal velvet-covered presentation chest with hot pink silk- satin interior
Marks: Gorham marks, STERLING, 1560, “M” (date mark for 1880)
Lid of case interior stamped in gold: Gorham Mfg. Co., Sterling Silver, Union Square, NY
For related pieces and further information see: Gorham Silver 1831-1981, Charles H. Carpenter, Jr., Chapter 6, “Innovation and Fantasy”, p. 94-121 (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1982); In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement, Chapter 8,“Metalwork: An Eclectic Aesthetic” by David Hanks, p.253-294 (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Rizzoli, 1987); Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor, Charles L. Venable, Chapter 6, “Consumption and Design” p.123-204, (New York: Dallas Museum of Art, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995).
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