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Noble
Silver: The Jerome and Rita Gans Collection of English Silver
at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
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The "Noble Silver"
gallery at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts displays one of the
finest collections of English silver in the world.
The gallery presents "outstanding pieces by the greatest silversmiths
of the 18th and 19th centuries, most notably Paul de Lamerie and
Paul Storr, and the renowned silver retailer Robert Garrard,"
says Alex Nyerges, VMFA's director.
Sixteen additional pieces given to the museum by Mrs. Gans in 2006
extend the chronological range of the collection and secures VMFA's
position as a destination for the study and appreciation of English
silver, says Ellenor M. Alcorn, VMFA's consulting curator for the
Gans Collection.
The collection, now numbering 103 pieces, was formed by New Yorkers
Jerome and Rita Gans between the mid 1960s and the late 1990s. The
couple lent it to the museum in 1988, and Mrs. Gans gave the collection
to VMFA in 1997 following her husband's death.
Since then, Mrs. Gans has augmented the "Noble Silver"
collection, most notably with a rosewater dish and pair of ewers
that have an unbroken provenance back to the date of their creation
in London in 1699 for Anthony Grey, the 11th Earl of Kent. The dish
and ewers were marked by Benjamin Pyne (active 1693-1727), a leading
silversmith in the late 17th and early 18th centuries who also worked
for Britain's Queen
Anne and George
I.
Until the mid 17th century, when the fork finally came into common
use, such large pieces were used for the ceremonial rinsing of guests'
hands at the end of a meal. Ewers and dishes were later central
elements on English sideboards, where a grand display of silver
was a mark of status.
The collection is also distinguished by 29 pieces by de Lamerie
(1688-1751), including a Rococo cup and cover made in 1742-43. In
addition, the collection boasts 36 pieces by Storr (1771-1844),
whose elegant classicism is exemplified by a figure made in 1837-38
of Hebe,
the Greek goddess of youth, after a model by Italian sculptor Antonio
Canova.
Another noteworthy work in the collection is a highly sculptural,
lavishly detailed, marine-themed soup tureen from 1829-30, marked
by Garrard.
Highlights of the 2006 additions to the collection are:
- A pair of silver-gilt livery pots, used for serving wine, is
doubtless the most important group of early 17th-century English
silver to be acquired by any American museum in recent years,
according to Alcorn. Marked London in 1602/3, they are distinguished
by their delicate surface decoration and their pristine condition,
she says.
- A fish slice, marked by de Lamerie in 1746/7, is engraved with
the arms of Admiral George Anson, the 1st Baron Anson. The admiral
was celebrated for a circumnavigation of the globe that culminated
in the capture of a Spanish treasure ship. He was richly rewarded
by the crown and later became an important de Lamerie client.
- A tureen, marked by de Lamerie in 1736/7, is encrusted with
meticulously rendered crayfish, game and vegetables. The dense
Rococo decoration reflects the then-popular French style. The
tureen closely resembles a tureen shown in a 1742 cookbook by
Vincent La Chapelle, the French chef who worked for the 4th Earl
of Chesterfield.
- A massive basket marked by Storr in 1813/14, bears the arms
of George, the 3rd Earl of Egremont, who was an immensely wealthy
patron of English painters J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), John Constable
(1776-1837) and their contemporaries. The basket was one of a
pair commissioned as part of a lavish dinner service from Rundell,
Bridge and Rundell, London's leading silver retailer of the time.
- A teapot by Myer Myers (1723-1795) from about 1765. Myers was
an American Jew who became New York's most prolific silversmith
in the 18th century. (The teapot represents the only American
piece in the Gans collection and will be shown with VMFA's collection
of American decorative arts when that gallery reopens in 2009.)
The teapot is decorated with unusually ambitious chased flowers
and scrolls.
Three distinct gallery areas, defined by a central rotunda, explore
the collection from several vantage points. A section on making silver
presents the great silversmiths, their workshops, training and techniques.
An area on using silver is devoted to the social history of dining
and the drinking of coffee and tea, emphasizing the context in which
the collection's magnificent objects were used. A third section on
looking at silver addresses the aesthetic qualities of the collection's
masterpieces.
(The Gans Collection gallery at VMFA is opposite the gallery devoted
to the museum's Lillian
Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels by Peter Carl
Fabergé.)
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Suzanne Hall, 804/204-2704; or Sarah Pennington, 804/204-2701; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N.
Boulevard, Richmond VA 23220-4007; FAX 804/204-2707; e-mail suzanne.hall@vmfa.museum.
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CAPTION: This
massive basket marked by Paul Storr in 1813/14 bears the arms of
the 3rd Earl of Egremont. It was one of a pair commissioned as part
of a lavish dinner service from London's leading silver retailer
of the time. The basket measures 20-5/16 inches from handle to handle.
(Photo by Steve Tucker, © 2007 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
CAPTION:
This 1736 soup tureen is marked by the pre-eminent 18th-century
silversmith Paul de Lamerie. Its design reflects the vogue in England
for all French culture, particularly cuisine. (Photo by Steve Tucker,
© 2007 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
CAPTION: This
silver-gilt rosewater dish and pair of ewers have an unbroken provenance
back to the date of their creation in 1700 for the 11th Earl of
Kent. The dish is 24-1/2 inches in diameter. (Photo © 2007
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
CAPTION: This
pair of silver-gilt livery pots, used for serving wine, is doubtless
the most important group of early 17th-century English silver to
be acquired by any American museum in recent years. Marked London
in 1602/3, they are distinguished by their delicate surface decoration
and their pristine condition. (Photo © 2007 Virginia Museum
of Fine Arts
CAPTION: This
pair of silver-gilt wine coolers, dated 1814/15, was made by Benjamin
Smith II. They are 15-1/2 inches tall. (Photo by Steven Tucker,
© 2007 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
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