Pastry Slice
1996 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This totally naturalistic creation is one of a number that grew out of the personal experience of the artist. In the spring of 1993 Sue travelled down the Amazon River in a dug-out canoe. The plant forms she saw were very beautiful and their impact was enhanced by the way they grew together and intertwined. The visual experience inspired her Jungle series. The boldness of this server’s outline brings to mind the striking images of Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932), whose black-and-white photographs of plants were such an inspiration to art metal-founders and modellers. This server captures the delicate form of an exotic bloom, bringing surprise and delight to the table. In the Renaissance it was customary to strew the tablecloth at lavish banquets with flowers. Perhaps this highly unusual server has appropriated some of that historical precedent.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, textured and polished |
| Brief description | Silver, USA, Edinboro, Pennsylvania, 1996, mark of Suzanne Amendolara |
| Physical description | The server blade is made as a flower and the handle as a jointed stem of a member of the heliconia plant family, Nickeriensis. The lightly textured handle is cast; the polished flower was assembled by soldering together the various petals, each of which is thereby unique in shape. This article does not have capability and is obviously a stabber or lifter for the service of small cakes, pastries etc. The folded-back stem supplies a very comfortable and remarkably beautiful and realistic handle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| 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 | This totally naturalistic creation is one of a number that grew out of the personal experience of the artist. In the spring of 1993 Sue travelled down the Amazon River in a dug-out canoe. The plant forms she saw were very beautiful and their impact was enhanced by the way they grew together and intertwined. The visual experience inspired her Jungle series. The boldness of this server’s outline brings to mind the striking images of Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932), whose black-and-white photographs of plants were such an inspiration to art metal-founders and modellers. This server captures the delicate form of an exotic bloom, bringing surprise and delight to the table. In the Renaissance it was customary to strew the tablecloth at lavish banquets with flowers. Perhaps this highly unusual server has appropriated some of that historical precedent. |
| Bibliographic reference | Benton Seymour Rabinovitch and Helen Clifford, Contemporary Silver, commissioning designing collecting, London, Merrell, pp.97-98. ill. ISBN.1858941040 |
| Other number | LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.110-2005 - previous loan number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.83-2008 |
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| Record created | May 12, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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