Product Description
International Silver Company / Kurt Eric Christoffersen Sterling “Continental” candlesticks c.1955
KURT ERIC CHRISTOFFERSEN (1926-1981) Denmark
INTERNATIONAL SILVER COMPANY Meriden, CT
Pair of Continental candlesticks c.1955
Sterling silver
Marks: INTERNATIONAL STERLING / Christoffersen Designed / CV200
Illustrated: International Sterling Crafts Associates
These candlesticks are illustrated in a vintage ad from the mid-1950’s and were priced at $70 for the pair!
H: 5″ x Dia: 4″
Price: $3,500
Born in Ringsted, Denmark, Kurt Eric Christoffersen graduated from the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen. The gifted young craftsman apprenticed with the Copenhagen fir m of Petersen & Lassen, Goldsmiths, before training under the aegis of A. Michelsen, jewelers to the Royal House of Denmark. In 1949, Christoffersen received the Silver Medal for Excellence, the highest award given by the Danish Gold and Silversmiths Guild. Christoffersen began designing for International Silver Co. in 1955.
International Silver Company / Kurt Eric Christoffersen Sterling “Continental” candlesticks c.1955
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
Coffeepot: H: 5 3/4” handle-to-spout: 9 1/4” (length);
teapot: H: 4”;
sugar w/ lid: H: 4”;
waste bowl: H: 2 1/2”;
cream: H: 2 3/4”;
chest: H: 7” x W: 21” x D: 15”
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).