Not currently on display at the V&A

Fish Slice

2001 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This server, while perhaps very modestly functional, is to be appreciated as a marvellous piece of sculpture. The artist has contrived an object that is the essence of sleek primitive fishiness. It conveys beauty of contour, together with an ominous warning of the terrors that lurk in the deep. This piece, and Hal Schremmer’s grotesque form, both suggest ferocity: the latter, directly, by its craggy fossil nature; this one, by contrast, by its smoothly suggestive reptilian contours, sharp spiked fin, and large cold eyes.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, set with stones
Brief description
Silver set with stones, London hallmarks for 2001, mark of Tara Michelle Coomber
Physical description
This rounded polished animal form has no obvious blade. However, a gaping mouth and a flat under-jaw “blade” are revealed by retraction of the elongated snout by use of the under-body, shell-form lever fin. Two large stone eyes and nasal indentations further characterises the head. A long railed and spiked fin, along the top of the body, leads to an elongated, tapered and curved, tubular tail.
Dimensions
  • Maximum length: 35cm
  • Weight: 292g
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 2001
  • Mark of Tara Coomber
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
Fish & Cake slice exhibition RF.2004/419
Historical context
Part of a collection of fish slices commissioned by Professor Rabinovitch from contemporary North American and British makers.
Summary
This server, while perhaps very modestly functional, is to be appreciated as a marvellous piece of sculpture. The artist has contrived an object that is the essence of sleek primitive fishiness. It conveys beauty of contour, together with an ominous warning of the terrors that lurk in the deep. This piece, and Hal Schremmer’s grotesque form, both suggest ferocity: the latter, directly, by its craggy fossil nature; this one, by contrast, by its smoothly suggestive reptilian contours, sharp spiked fin, and large cold eyes.
Bibliographic reference
Benton Seymour Rabinovitch, Contemporary Silver, Part II Recent Commissions, Seattle, RAB Associates, 2005, pp.20-21. ill.
Other number
LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.72-2005 - previous loan number
Collection
Accession number
M.45-2008

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Record createdMay 9, 2008
Record URL
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