Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 67, The Whiteley Galleries

Cup

1900 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Kate Harris was staff designer at the manufacturing firm of William Hutton & Sons, Sheffield. The firm opened a small London factory in 1898 for the production of Art Nouveau silver and became a major supplier to Liberty & Co. and foreign retailers including Citroen of Amsterdam. It is likely that Harris worked from the London factory.

Her work, chiefly in the Art Nouveau style, was enthusiastically received. The Studio journal described it as 'gracefully conceived and executed'. A number of her designs were executed by William Hutton & Sons and retailed by the Goldsmiths' and Silversmiths Company. These included a teaset of 1898 and this floral motif cup and cover, one of the winning designs in the 1900 Paris Exhibition.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Lid
  • Cups
Materials and techniques
Silver, cast and raised
Brief description
Silver cup and cover made by William Hutton & Sons for the Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1900. English, 1900.
Physical description
Two handled cup and cover; the circular base supports a long four sided stem which tapers downwards into a knop formed of stylised foliage motifs. At the top of the stem is a ball enclosed by branches which support the circular cup. The curved handles enclose, in the lower section, cast floral motifs. The flat circular lid is surmounted by a knop cast in the form of a female head.
Silver, raised, cast handles
Dimensions
  • Height: 32.5cm
  • Width: 14.9cm
  • Depth: 8.3cm
  • Length: 25.5cm
Style
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • GOLDSMITHS AND SILVERSMITHS COMPANY LTD / 112 REGENT STREET, LONDON W and the scratch marks 2/53, 36.5, SH6067/3 and 65090 with various other figures crossed out. On the lid are the scratch marks: 36. 11696 39090 (On the base and on the underside of the lid)
  • (Rim of lid: maker, G&S Co Ltd for Goldsmiths and Silvermiths Company Ltd., date, leopard, sterling; Rim of cup: maker, sterling, date, leopard; Base: G&S Co Ltd, 112 Regent St, London W1; Finial: sterling, leopard, maker.)
Gallery label
Cup and Cover Height 12 3/4 inches 1900 London Designed by Kate Harris for the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company(1993)
Credit line
J. R. W. Cox Gift
Object history
Made for the Exposition Universelle, Paris 1900.

J R W Cox Gift
Awarded a prize at the Paris Exhibition, 1900
Kate Harris was the staff designer to the Sheffield manufacturer of William Hutton & Sons. The firm opened a small London factory in 1898 for the production of Art Nouveau silver and it became a major supplier to Liberty & Co. and also to foreign retailers including Citröen of Amsterdam. Kate Harris probably worked in the London factory and her work was enthusiastically received.
Production
Silver load date: 1990 - 1901
Silver load makers: Kate Harris~designer; William Hutton & Sons Ltd.~maker; Goldsmiths' & Silversmiths' Company Ltd.~maker
Summary
Kate Harris was staff designer at the manufacturing firm of William Hutton & Sons, Sheffield. The firm opened a small London factory in 1898 for the production of Art Nouveau silver and became a major supplier to Liberty & Co. and foreign retailers including Citroen of Amsterdam. It is likely that Harris worked from the London factory.

Her work, chiefly in the Art Nouveau style, was enthusiastically received. The Studio journal described it as 'gracefully conceived and executed'. A number of her designs were executed by William Hutton & Sons and retailed by the Goldsmiths' and Silversmiths Company. These included a teaset of 1898 and this floral motif cup and cover, one of the winning designs in the 1900 Paris Exhibition.
Bibliographic references
  • Greenhalgh, Paul (Ed.), Art Nouveau: 1890-1914 . London: V&A Publications, 2000
  • Wesyon, Anne Royal Goldsmiths Garrad Design and Patronage in the Twentieth Century, London, Garrard, 1993, ill p.37 ISBN 0951741012
Collection
Accession number
M.22&A-1966

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Record createdDecember 29, 2003
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