Not currently on display at the V&A

Fish Slice

1995 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The server is a bold dynamic representation of an arching fish. The raised and curved surfaces create dimension, the fluidity of the fish's shape is created through the use of a single sheet of silver. The surface of the server is intricately textured evoking the eddying of water. The server is cross-peened in a swirling pattern and pounced to define the fish's anatomy. The simplicity of design creates a powerful piece with strong presence.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Sterling silver
Brief description
Sterling silver, USA, Seattle, Washington, mark of Flora Book.
Physical description
The server is forged from a single piece of fourteen gauge (1.6 mm) silver sheet and is in the shape of an arching fish whose tail provides the handle. The "animal" is completely covered on both sides with a texture of swirled cross peening and pouncing that delineates the anatomy of the fish while simultaneously enhancing the action motif of the overall shape and imbuing it with a water wave environmental character. The left edge is bevelled.
Dimensions
  • Length: 33cm
  • Weight: 304g
Marks and inscriptions
Inscribed: "FLORA BOOK, STERLING"
Gallery label
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 significance: Flora Book's work is technically simple but has a distinctive style inspired by everything from her everyday surroundings to art from around the world.
Historical context
Part of a collection of fish slices commissioned by Professor Rabinovitch from contemporary North American and British makers.
Summary
The server is a bold dynamic representation of an arching fish. The raised and curved surfaces create dimension, the fluidity of the fish's shape is created through the use of a single sheet of silver. The surface of the server is intricately textured evoking the eddying of water. The server is cross-peened in a swirling pattern and pounced to define the fish's anatomy. The simplicity of design creates a powerful piece with strong presence.
Bibliographic reference
Benton Seymour Rabinovitch and Helen Clifford, Contemporary Silver, commissioning, designing, collecting, London, Merrell, 2000, pp. 102-3. ill. ISBN.1858941040
Other number
LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.114-2005 - previous loan number
Collection
Accession number
M.87-2008

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Record createdJuly 10, 2007
Record URL
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