Not on display

Fish Slice

1997 (made)
Artist/Maker
David Courts and Bill Hackett (designers)
Fowler, Charles (maker)
Place of origin
London (made)

The artists have laid bare the internal structure of this server. It is as if we see the skeleton of some aquatic beast. The crescent shape of the rib finial provides a visually startling impact as well as an admirably functional and stable means of supporting the implement. Anatomical fact is combined with fantasy in the gold mounted silvery pearl that terminates the finial. The bold and forceful handle is countered by the pierced and flowing blade, which evokes the watery environment where this creature must have been born.

Object details

Categories
Eating
Metalwork
Object type
Fish slice
Materials and techniques
Silver, pierced, engraved and oxidised with an 18 carat gold terminal holding a baroque pearl
Silver
Eighteen-Carat Gold
Pearl
Piercing
Engraving (Incising)
Oxidation
Stone Setting
Brief description
Silver, 18 carat gold and a moonstone, London hallmarks for 1997, mark of Charles Fowler, designed by David Courts and Bill Hackett
Physical description
The pointed blade is of long oval shape with waved and sharply bevelled edges and claw shaped heel. It is pierced and engraved over its whole extent with fluid comma and star shapes that are emphasised and extended by engraved arcs. The handle is a realistic fish vertebrae skeleton, which terminates in a pair of ribs. Vertebrae and ribs are accentuated by oxidised concavities. The handle has an 18 carat gold terminal bezel that holds a large, lustrous, grey baroque pearl.
Dimensions
  • Length: 25.5cm
  • Weight: 301g
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 1997
  • Mark of Charles Fowler
  • Inscribed on the underside: Designed by Courts and Hackett
Gallery label
(2005)
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.
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 artists have laid bare the internal structure of this server. It is as if we see the skeleton of some aquatic beast. The crescent shape of the rib finial provides a visually startling impact as well as an admirably functional and stable means of supporting the implement. Anatomical fact is combined with fantasy in the gold mounted silvery pearl that terminates the finial. The bold and forceful handle is countered by the pierced and flowing blade, which evokes the watery environment where this creature must have been born.
Bibliographic reference
Benton Seymour Rabinovitch and Helen Clifford, Contemporary Silver, commissioning designing collecting, London, Merrell, pp.42-43. ill. ISBN.1858941040
Other number
LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.73-2005 - previous loan number
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.46-2008

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Record createdMay 9, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O154383/fish-slice-fowler-charles/
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