Fish Slice
1997 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The design of this server derives from the maker's avid interest in fishing and is quite appropriate for a fish server. The barb of the handle complements the forward thrust of the tip of the blade, creating an impression of live and sinuous tension. The elemental power is undisturbed by ornament. Even the piercing is simple and functional, the crosses and line reinforcing the dynamic V shape of for and aft. This is silver at its most simple and sculptural. Its power lies in the harmony of scale, shape and form.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, cut, shaped, pierced and polished |
| Brief description | Silver, United States, New York, 1997, mark of John Cogswell. |
| Physical description | The blade is highly rounded trowel shape, dished around the long axis and pierced with a diaper pattern of crosslets in an arrow-head shape. The hollow, four sided handle rises as a long V shapeon the blade and sweeps up and turns forward. All surfaces are polished. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | THE RABINOVITCH COLLECTION
This collection of silver slices, all commissioned over a period of twenty years by Professor Benton Seymour Rabinovitch FRS, is proof of the skill and diversity of contemporary silversmiths. Each artist craftsman has responded to the familiar functional form of the slice in an individual way, producing an astonishingly diverse range of interpretations. Each piece becomes an enchanting, decorative work of art. Professor Rabinovitch established a close rapport with each artist, always encouraging a freedom of creative expression. The response of these silversmiths has been not only to be strikingly imaginative but also to honour him by giving him their best work.
This collection is testimony to the significant contribution that one individual can make to supporting the craft of silversmithing. After commissioning work from some of the most illustrious names in British and North American silversmithing, Professor Rabinovitch has very generously donated his entire collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum, through the American Friends of the V&A.(2005) |
| Credit line | Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Professor B. Seymour Rabinovitch |
| Object history | Fairfax House Fish & Cake Slice exhibition RF.2004/419 |
| Historical context | The design of this server derives from the maker's avid interest in fishing and is quite appropriate for a fish server. The barb of the handle complements the forward thrust of the tip of the blade, creating an impression of live and sinuous tension. The elemental power is undisturbed by ornament. Even the piercing is simple and functional, the crosses and line reinforcing the dynamic V shape of for and aft. This is silver at its most simple and sculptural. Its power lies in the harmony of scale, shape and form. |
| Summary | The design of this server derives from the maker's avid interest in fishing and is quite appropriate for a fish server. The barb of the handle complements the forward thrust of the tip of the blade, creating an impression of live and sinuous tension. The elemental power is undisturbed by ornament. Even the piercing is simple and functional, the crosses and line reinforcing the dynamic V shape of for and aft. This is silver at its most simple and sculptural. Its power lies in the harmony of scale, shape and form. |
| Bibliographic reference | Benton Seymour Rabinovitch and helen Clifford, Contemporary Silver, London, Merrell, 2000, pp.112-13 ill. ISBN. 1858941040 |
| Other number | LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.120-2005 - previous loan number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.93-2008 |
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| Record created | July 10, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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