Server
1992 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The maker’s play on symmetry- with complimentary and opposed arcs between blade and handle- shows his well-founded sense of design. McCallum has a great sense of minimal form that is almost as Oriental as the mokume gane technique that he has made his own. What is not there is as important as what is included; curve balances curve, shapes are repeated, echoed, balanced, positive space plays with negative space, light with shadow. In this way a tremendous harmony and tranquillity are created- a type of visual and formal poetry. Function and proportion are integral to the total concept. With only modest and unstressed surface decoration of the handle, the piece nevertheless makes a strong statement: handle and blade work together from tip to tip as one- and not as two separate, conjoined pieces.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, mokumé gané and 14 carat gold |
| Brief description | Silver, mokumé gané and 14 carat gold, London, 1992, mark of Alistair McCallum |
| Physical description | The blade is a simple, undecorated, forged, long, oval, navette shape with a matte finish, and is centrally pierced with a shape that echoes the blade. The latter is slightly dished along the long axis and is bevelled on all edges. The handle is a solid symmetric arc of elliptic cross-section, having a silver/copper mokume surface that appears as seaweed decoration. The handle attaches to the blade with a navette-shaped gold boss and the same-style finial. Although identified as a fish server, the article is as well adapted for cake and other service. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Mark of Alistair McCallum |
| 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 |
| Historical context | Part of a collection of fish slices commissioned by Professor Rabinovitch from contemporary North American and British makers. |
| Summary | The maker’s play on symmetry- with complimentary and opposed arcs between blade and handle- shows his well-founded sense of design. McCallum has a great sense of minimal form that is almost as Oriental as the mokume gane technique that he has made his own. What is not there is as important as what is included; curve balances curve, shapes are repeated, echoed, balanced, positive space plays with negative space, light with shadow. In this way a tremendous harmony and tranquillity are created- a type of visual and formal poetry. Function and proportion are integral to the total concept. With only modest and unstressed surface decoration of the handle, the piece nevertheless makes a strong statement: handle and blade work together from tip to tip as one- and not as two separate, conjoined pieces. |
| Bibliographic reference | Benton Seymour Rabinovitch and Helen Clifford, Contemporary Silver, commissioning designing collecting, London, Merrell, pp.66-67. ill. ISBN.1858941040 |
| Other number | LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.90-2005 - previous loan number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.63-2008 |
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| Record created | May 9, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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