A Gorham Sterling Silver Oyster Tureen with Cover and Underplate, 1885

Lot Details & Additional Photographs

The body featuring fish swimming amongst roiling waves, one handle in the form of a lobster and the other handle in the form of a crab, the domed cover repeating the fish and wave motif and featuring a crab finial, the underplate decorated with fish and a terrapin swimming along undulating waves, the body features the pattern number '291,' both tray and body with 1885 date symbol, no monogram.

Tureen & Cover - 8 3/4 x 12 x 9 in.; Underplate - 10 1/2 in. diameter

Tureen & Cover - 49.8 troy oz.; Underplate - 17.3 troy oz.

From the Estate of the late Mrs. Abner Benisch, South Orange, New Jersey

From the Estate of Theodore Frelinghuysen
Wiss & Sons Jewelers, Newark, New Jersey
Joseph Wolf Paul, New Jersey (acquired from the above on November 22, 1947)
Mr. and Mrs. Abner Benisch, Livingston, New Jersey (gifted from the above on September 7, 1972)
By descent through the Benisch Family

Mr. Paul filled this tureen with silver dollars and presented it to his wife on their 25th wedding anniversary in 1947. Mr. and Mrs. Paul gifted it to their daughter, Norma Paul Benisch, and her husband, in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary.

Exhibited:
RISD Museum. (October 14, 1983 - February 12, 1984). Gorham: Masterpieces in Metal. Providence, Rhode Island.

In the 1880s, Gorham Manufacturing Company embraced the Aesthetic and Japanese styles, producing silverware that reflected the growing Western fascination with Japanese art and design. This period, influenced by the broader Aesthetic Movement, emphasized beauty, craftsmanship, and nature-inspired forms over strict functionality. Gorham’s silver pieces from this era often featured asymmetrical compositions, organic motifs such as birds, bamboo, and cherry blossoms, and surface treatments like mixed metals and textured finishes—hallmarks of Japonisme. These designs not only showcased Gorham’s technical virtuosity but also captured the era’s desire to break from traditional European styles, creating objects that were both decorative and avant-garde.

This tureen and underplate illustrates the apogee of this period of Gorham's design work. The sea provided Gorham with an infinite number of motifs aligning perfectly with the craze for Japanese-inspired designs, including flatware patterns like Narragansett and Hizen. This tureen is a three-dimensional sculpture was created for the titans of the Gilded Age and speaks to both literal and figural consumption of the finest. Similar tureens are in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Dallas Museum of Art.

While examples of the tureen have come up for auction, it is rare to find one with the original underplate.

One foot with dent; light scratches and minor dings to well of tray. Overall in good estate condition.