Featured Gorham Sterling....nope COPPER?? Teapot!

Discussion in 'Silver' started by vitry-le-francois, Apr 24, 2024.

  1. vitry-le-francois

    vitry-le-francois Well-Known Member

    I never ever in my wildest dreams thought I would see a Gorham teapot in copper. Evidently, they were made! They are coming up for sale at a local auction, next week. Whatcha think?
    1712865495_img_2520.jpg 1712865487_img_2515.jpg 1712865491_img_2517.jpg 1712865493_img_2518.jpg 1712865494_img_2519.jpg
     
  2. Potteryplease

    Potteryplease Well-Known Member

  3. bluumz

    bluumz Quite Busy

    I had no idea, either!
    Googling reveals quite a lot of Gorham copper items, including teapots.
     
    Aquitaine likes this.
  4. pewter2

    pewter2 Well-Known Member

    not teapots.. they are both kettles ,,,
     
    Aquitaine, komokwa, kyratango and 2 others like this.
  5. bluumz

    bluumz Quite Busy

    Just for clarification: Kettles are for boiling water, teapots are for brewing tea.
     
  6. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    I think they are delightfully wonderful..........
     
    kyratango likes this.
  7. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    Very stylish with lovely contours.
     
  8. ola402

    ola402 Well-Known Member

    I love them both. Will you be bidding on them? I would at least try. The one on the left looks like it could go high. Maybe one to sell, and one to keep?
     
  9. vitry-le-francois

    vitry-le-francois Well-Known Member

    I'm sure they will sell separately. I will try for the one on the left.
     
  10. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    I'm sure you could make tea in a kettle. I have poached eggs in one in a hotel room. We also emptied the mini bar onto the side and put our perishables in it for the duration.
     
  11. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    I"m not sure I'd want to brew tea in copper, but I'd have the kettle on stand in a heartbeat. The other one too, for that matter.
     
  12. bluumz

    bluumz Quite Busy

    Yes, I'm sure you could find many ways for using a one, I was simply stating the intended uses of a teapot vs a kettle, which is a major differentiation between the two.
     
    J Dagger likes this.
  13. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

  14. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    Gorham is a weakness for me, they were prolific, as well as incredibly innovative in the mid to late 19th century (especially the 1870s-'80s), like the use of other metals, including copper, brass, bronze (they had a foundry), aluminum, even iron (with applied silver elements), they also occasionally produced gold pieces. There was often a Japanese influence, as well as other cultures, and there was a line called 'Cairo' produced in silver speckled with bits of copper, bronze and brass, both holloware and flatware.

    The pieces shown were part of a pricy handwrought copper line introduced in 1881, pretty much out of production by the end of the decade (the date code 'O' for 1882 can be seen in the last image pic), it had an unusual 'glazed' surface, that held up well and highlighted the different shades of the metal. They also produced some Art Nouveau silver and copper pieces in the early 20th century, as well as copper-lined, silver-mounted leather 'Blackjack' cups and tankards.

    I still have a bit of regret about selling a Gorham 'Sterling & Other Metals' card tray with a sweet applied copper mouse decades ago - but it did make the mortgage and more...

    ~Cheryl
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2024
  15. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    For any interested in silver, and American in particular, the Rhode Island School of Design launched an exhibit of part of their Gorham collection in 2019, the associated book, Williams' 'Gorham Silver: Designing Brilliance 1850-1970' is quite wonderful (told the exhibit was fabulous). Prior to its release, the only modern references specific to Gorham were Carpenter's 'Gorham Silver, 1840-1941' (1982) and a 2002 volume on their 'Martelé' line (I have both), so as soon as I heard, I pre-ordered the book, eager to add it to my library (such a silver-geek).

    Have a bit of time, so went to the RISD Museum site and pulled up images of pieces of copper or with copper (had forgotten that 'Cairo' was originally called 'Curio'), here are the pieces they have online, though a pair of likely Old Sheffield Plate candlesticks that were 'Replated by Gorham Co.' also appear:

    https://risdmuseum.org/art-design/collection?search_api_fulltext=gorham+copper&has_images=1


    And just because it's amazing, the silver-mounted writing table and chair created for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair:

    https://risdmuseum.org/manual/117_the_long_road_home_the_gorham_writing_table_and_chair

    gorham-writing-table-chair-1904.jpg


    ~Cheryl
     
    RachelW, Aquitaine, J Dagger and 5 others like this.
  16. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    Marie Antoinette would have approved.
     
  17. vitry-le-francois

    vitry-le-francois Well-Known Member

    Makes me wonder if anyone tossed their old Gorham silver/copper mixed metals items because they thought the plating was worn off.
     
    komokwa likes this.
  18. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    You can bet somebody did! I'd hope to find it in the "cheap silverplate" pile at a rummage sale. Crazier things have happened.
     
  19. J Dagger

    J Dagger Well-Known Member

    Gorhams work is so good. I was going to mention Gorhams bronze foundry but Cheryl beat me to it. They did a large output of bronze statues/sculptures by many of the days top artists. They sell for very good prices. I had one once that the seller knew was good but didn’t realize how good. They also did an awful lot of production for Tiffany & Co.. I’m not sure if they were the biggest provider of silver to Tiffany but they were one of the biggest for sure. Their mixed metal work was awesome.

    I actually prefer the kettle on the right.
     
    DragonflyWink and komokwa like this.
  20. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    me too !
     
    DragonflyWink likes this.
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