A Gorham Mfg. Co. Partial Gilt Silver Punch Bowl-Form Yachting Trophy: Hera, Providence, Rhode Island, 1884. Marks: ...

Description

A Gorham Mfg. Co. Partial Gilt Silver Punch Bowl-Form Yachting Trophy: Hera, Providence, Rhode Island, 1884
Marks: GORHAM & CO., (lion-anchor-G), Q
9-1/2 x 18 x 13-1/2 inches (24.1 x 45.7 x 34.3 cm)
3722 grams (119.6669 troy ounces)
Inscribed: WON BY THE SLOOP HERA IN A MATCH RACE WITH THE SLOOP LILLIE 1883

Property from a Southern Gentleman

PROVENANCE:
Freeman's Auction, Philadelphia, The Collection of Victor Niederhoffer, June 19, 2019, lot 10
Sotheby's, New York, Important American Silver, June 15, 1998, lot 1580

EXHIBITED:
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2019-2021

The circular body of the bowl with deep repoussé and finely chased design of dragons, serpents, fish, a figure of an eccentric artist riding a dragon with a brush in his right hand and a box of paints in his left, all tossed on a rough sea, two handles are in the form of dragon heads sporting long tentacles and fierce expressions, the undulating rim features cast silver seashells, sand and seaweed, the bowl rests upon a circular ring created by two intertwined snakes.

This exceptional punch bowl is one of three related bowls that were made by Gorham in 1884-1885 and photographically illustrated in the "Gorham Photo Book: Holloware, ca. 1883-85" in the Gorham Archives. The facts that this lot is one of the two bowls created in 1884 and that its label in the Photo Book does not note the model number 1980 like the other two, suggests it was the first such punch bowl created. Furthermore, it was likely created as a special-order trophy for the winner of the 1883 yacht race, with the two additional, similar bowls being inspired by this first example. The third bowl from 1885 is pictured in the "Photo Book" with a Narragansett ladle, a pattern designed ca. 1884-85 by Gorham. Given the fact that Narragansett features seashells cast from real shells along with silver sand and seaweed, suggests that such ladles were meant to accompany all these bowls as shown in the archival image of the example now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While not original to this bowl, the following lot is a Narragansett ladle that may be paired with it the trophy.

As curators at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston have written about their example: "This monumental punch bowl, with matching ladle, is a testament to the extraordinary technical and artistic prowess of Gorham's craftsmen in the late nineteenth century, an era otherwise noted for significant advances in machine production. Reflecting an interest in Japanese art and culture that predominated in the 1880s, this magnificent set demonstrates not only the influence of British reform, or craftsman, movement at century's end but also America's engagement with the Aesthetic style....This raised bowl represents a tremendous technical achievement, evidenced by its broadly repousséd ornament of swirling waves, flying fish, and fantastic sea serpent. Surviving company records reveal that the retail cost was about $840, a considerable sum in 1885, and that the value of the gold on the piece far exceeded that used on other punch bowls created at the same time. The interior, as well as the serpent's tongue and eyes and other details, were originally gilded." The cost records in the Gorham Archives for the Hera bowl have not yet been researched, but the bowl was equal in size and as difficult to execute as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's example. Therefore, it likely cost a similar large amount in 1884. Yet key decorative elements on this lot, including the serpent base, dragon handles, human figure, and the name HERA, differ substantially from the two other bowls.

In ancient Greek mythology, Hera was the wife of Zeus and thus worshiped as the goddess of heaven. However, the decoration on this punch bowl has no relationship to Greek art or religion. Rather its dragons, fish, and other sea motifs were inspired by Japanese art that was very fashionable in America in the 1870s and 1880s. While no print source has yet been found depicting a long-haired artist with brush and paint box in hand riding a writhing dragon, it is highly likely that the image came from a contemporary Japanese woodblock print. These colorful works of art were very popular in Europe and America in the late 19th century and the Boston area was well known as a center for collecting Japanese art. Therefore, a designer at Gorham could have had access to prints by artists like Toyohara Chikanobu (1838-1912), whose works often depict mythic warriors with flowing hair, blowing robes, and ferocious dragons with burning eyes and long tentacles....all in a stormy sea.

The base of the trophy bowl is inscribed: WON BY THE SLOOP HERA IN A MATCH RACE WITH THE SLOOP LILLIE 1883. The owner of the sloop Hera that beat Lillie in August 1883 was Nathan Summer Myrick (1853-1930). He was born on 15 Nov. 1853 in New Bedford, MA, to Alexander and Hulda Padelford Myrick. The Myrick family was wealthy and long associated with whaling, foreign trade, and ships. Sumner Myrick was educated at the prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover and then received his law degree from Boston University. He was a Boston lawyer, railway company principal, and an expert on the Merchant Marine, serving for many years as the Vice-Chairman of the Shipping Committee of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States.

As a boating enthusiast Myrick purchased Hera from W. F. Weld of Boston who first registered the sloop in Nahant, MA. According to its registration the Hera was 41' long, 14' 3" wide, and had a draft of 7' 3". As reported in the Boston Evening Transcript, August 21, 1883, a spirit of competition led to the race between Hera and Lillie.
There has arisen a fresh dispute between the owners of the yachts Hera and Lillie as to which is the better boat, and, as announced yesterday, the question is to be settled by a series of races. The first took place yesterday off City Point. The course, fifteen miles, was from the starting-line leaving Spectacle Island and Ramhead buoy on the starboard, Whistling buoy off Graves on the starboard....The judge, Dr. John Bryant, gave the gun for starting at twelve o'clock, ....The Lillie gained on the Hera, yet not as much as was necessary to win, for the Hera was five minutes ahead. She was sailed by Captain A. Dean, and the Lillie by Captain S. Luscom. There will be a second race today, off Marblehead, and a third, if necessary, will take place on Wednesday.
Then on August 22, 1883 The Boston Evening Edition reported "....Lillie was in a fair way to retrieve her ill-fortune of the previous day and secure first place. The Hera, however, quickly covered the distance, about 100 feet, between her and the Lillie, and near Winthrop buoy to the stake boat the Hera steadily increased her lead... The sailing qualities of the Hera, however, found no match in the Lillie, and the former fairly out sailed the latter, leaving her far in the rear."
'The prize is a cup worth $1,500, the expense of which was shared by the owners of the yachts." (Aug. 21, 1883) The fact that this punch bowl was made in 1884, the year after the race indicates that it was created especially as a yacht trophy, hence having the name Hera repoussed and chased on its side as part of the overall ornamental scheme.
__________________________________________________________________________
1 Gorham Archives article no. 31236073558572, Gorham Photo Book: Holloware, ca. 1883-85. Hay Library, Brown University, Providence, RI.
2 https://collections.mfa.org/objects/41179
3 Myrick obituary: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27572502/myrick-n-sumner-obit-boston-globe-03/
4 Freeman's Auction, The Collection of Victor Niederhoffer (Philadelphia: 19 June 2019), lot 10.
5 https://books.google.com/books?id=r9g_AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA21-PA8&lpg=RA21-PA8&dq=Hera+W.+B.+Smith+Nahant&source=bl&ots=Kox9v6Gph4&sig=ACfU3U2iDzAAGFM2b4GD56kMTHzd6z-28Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjow8Gs6fX0AhXNMd8KHXyhBz0Q6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=Hera%20W.%20B.%20Smith%20Nahant&f=false

Adapted from an unpublished essay by Dr. Charles L. Venable, author and silver scholar



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