posted 10-12-2011 01:02 AM            

The teapot:

posted 10-12-2011 10:10 AM            

Anyway, you agree it's a bird?

I agree about the contrast between the straight lines and the spheres/circles. I also like the 45% angles of the spout and the handle mount. Isn't it a gloriously pompous teapot? Here's the matching cream and sugar:

posted 10-12-2011 12:59 PM            

If Ulysses is right and it's sterling, I've posted in the wrong forum. And in fact, this set was sold to me as sterling and had evidence of acid testing on the bottom of the sugar bowl. I assumed it was coin because it wasn't marked sterling.

I wish the price of silver would go down. I can see the temptation to melt down weighty, over-the-top pomposities like this. I wonder when the pendulum of taste will swing back to this sort of thing. [Edited to say: I don't mean *I* would be tempted to melt this! I adore over-the-top 19th c design. I meant that I can see how a combo of high silver melt values and the popularity of simplicity and modernism would threaten the continued existence of pieces like this.]

Ulysses, if you're reading this, do you have photos of the rest of the set you mention in that thread? I'm especially interested in seeing the handles. I bought my set online, and the handles were described as being made of wood. I assumed it was the kind of wood that grows on elephants and the seller didn't want to deal with the question of its legality. But seeing them in person, I think they really are made out of tree wood. I wonder if they're replacements or if they're the original handles, meant to imitate ivory.

posted 10-12-2011 06:17 PM            

I think you hit the jackpot, the set is Gorgeous!
Use it well, & give it a place of honour, I would.

The feet could be most any kind of bird, why is that important to you. I think at that time it was not uncommon to use birds feet or paws etc. Made the piece much more fun, even though I am sure there was a reason at that time.

posted 10-12-2011 07:42 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by wev:
I say it's a dodo, as in its aesthetic is as dead as. I rather like it.

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posted 10-12-2011 09:04 PM            

It doesn't REALLY matter what bird the feet are from. I'm just used to you folks having infinite amounts of detailed information at your fingertips and assumed someone would say, "Ah, yes, those are the famous Gorham Goshawk feet, modeled after a pet of old Jabez's" or something.

I used the teapot for the first time this afternoon and burned my hand. The wooden handle isn't long enough to avoid touching the hot metal at the bottom. Must find some sort of elegant 1860s potholder....

posted 10-13-2011 12:14 AM            

===================================
It is here Claw-and-ball foot and other feet

posted 09-23-2012 12:21 PM            

Closer look at the legs:

The mark, with the Gorham date letter G for 1874:

This little item has lots of stubborn tarnish blotches inside, the kind that come from leaving salt in a salt cellar, so I'm guessing that's what it was used for. Anyone agree or disagree?

posted 09-23-2012 12:41 PM            

I guess I thought people would wash an egg cup right away, but might leave salt sitting in a salt cellar. But you're right, the tarnish could well be from eggs' sulfur.

posted 12-04-2012 09:33 PM            

It clearly is the same set, not a vaguely inspired-by version. All the details are the same--thought a bit cruder--down to the number of balls in the graduated-ball garland holding the handle to the lip.

Why would Gorham make the same set in both sterling and silverplate? Wouldn't that be competing against itself? Wouldn't it devalue the sterling version if the exact same thing were available in silverplate?

posted 12-09-2012 01:46 PM            

First, the silverplate creamer with its cousin, the coin or sterling one (I think it's actually sterling, though it's not marked as such). The sterling one is on the right:

Close-up of the feet. Again, sterling on the right:

And the waste bowl, which has lost most of its plating and looks very brassy in real life:

It's hard to tell from these photos how very much nicer the sterling versions are than the silverplate ones.

Does the fact that they bothered to make them in sterling AND silverplate mean that this was a popular pattern, despite its current apparent scarcity?

posted 12-09-2012 02:18 PM            

I started to take that photo in my nightgown, then realized I'd better get dressed and brush my hair first.