Fish Slice
1994 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The strangeness and striking originality of this piece has a magnetic appeal. This piece is the only double-bladed server in the collection. The ingenuity of the contraption recalls the inventions of Victorian entrepreneurs, the under-pull, on a counter-spring, is a small moulded fish. The fish-tail handle is swallowed by the mouth of the blade, a fish-head, resolving the difficult transition with humour. The upper blade is a forged oxidised net, giving a visual texture and depth and enhancing the humorous motif of a caught fish. The piece combines craftsmanship and style with a humorous twist in a unique and individual piece.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, pierced, forged, cast and partly oxidised |
| Brief description | Silver, London hallmarks for 1994, mark of Dennis Smith and Gareth Harris. |
| Physical description | Double bladed server, the lower sheet blade has a reversed trowel shape. The upper blade is a forged oxidised net that operates on a trigger pull under the handle. The boss is a cast mask of a giant fish head that swallows a part fish handle whose tail shows a remnant of a torn net. The under pull, on a counter spring, is a small, moulded, arched fish. It lifts the net from the lower blade, which is pierced with wave form arcs. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Professor B. Seymour Rabinovitch |
| Object history | Historical significance: The artist's aim to unite aesthetic appeal with enjoyment of use is perfectly illustrated in this piece. Smith "believes that the merit of an object… stands on its visual appeal if decorative, or its enjoyment of use if functional". |
| Historical context | Part of a collection of fish slices commissioned by Professor Rabinovitch from contemporary North American and British makers. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The strangeness and striking originality of this piece has a magnetic appeal. This piece is the only double-bladed server in the collection. The ingenuity of the contraption recalls the inventions of Victorian entrepreneurs, the under-pull, on a counter-spring, is a small moulded fish. The fish-tail handle is swallowed by the mouth of the blade, a fish-head, resolving the difficult transition with humour. The upper blade is a forged oxidised net, giving a visual texture and depth and enhancing the humorous motif of a caught fish. The piece combines craftsmanship and style with a humorous twist in a unique and individual piece. |
| Bibliographic reference | Benton Seymour Rabinovitch and Helen Clifford, Contemporary Silver, commissioning, designing, collecting, London, Merrell, 2000, pp. 86-7. ill. ISBN.1858941040 |
| Other number | LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.103-2005 - previous loan number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.76-2008 |
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| Record created | July 10, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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