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Not currently on display at the V&A

Server

2003 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This server is entirely naturalistic in inspiration. It is an exposé of the artist's intense interest in natural phenomena. She lovingly examines her subject with deep concentration and insight into detail. The small copper and bronze elements provide colour and texture.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, copper and bronze, carnelian, black pearl and quartz; the silver chased, textured and oxidised
Brief description
Silver, copper and bronze, USA, Seattle, Washington State, 2003, designed and made by Nancy Megan Corwin
Physical description
The server represents a partially blocked stream whose surface (the handle) is covered with botanic litter, leaves, flowers etc. The largest leaf, at the rear, is moulded on a pomegranate. A small carnelian cabochon is hidden under a round, fluted flower; a black pearl is centred on a flower element and a quartz crystal with a pyrite inclusion is almost hidden in a folded copper leaf. Bronze elements include a collar around a cast silver piece, and a flower or cone. The surfaces have been chased, textured and oxidised. The hollow conical boss is the constriction through which the stream emerges and flows over a chased and repoussé stony surface made from 14 gauge sheet; a reversed triangular blade shape is thereby created and broadens as the flow spreads out.
Dimensions
  • Length: 37.5cm
  • Weight: 486g
Marks and inscriptions
No marks
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.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This server is entirely naturalistic in inspiration. It is an exposé of the artist's intense interest in natural phenomena. She lovingly examines her subject with deep concentration and insight into detail. The small copper and bronze elements provide colour and texture.
Bibliographic reference
Benton Seymour Rabinovitch, Contemporary Silver, Part II Recent Commissions, Seattle, RAB Associates, 2005, pp.48-9. ill.
Other number
LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.122-2005 - previous loan number
Collection
Accession number
M.95-2008

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Record createdMay 12, 2008
Record URL
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