Berry Bowl
George W. Shiebler (Produced by George W. Shiebler (1876–91); or produced by George W. Shiebler and Company (1892–1910); New York)
1885–95
- Medium
- Silver, parcel-gilt silver, and copper
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Dimensions
- 20.2 × 35.7 × 32.2 cm (8 × 14 1/16 × 12 11/16 in.)
- Culture
- New York City
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Roger and J. Peter McCormick Endowment; Vance American Arts and Mrs. Eric Oldberg funds
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
As one of many new manufacturers competing in a vast marketplace, George W. Shiebler began producing silver in the early 1870s. Although Shiebler’s firm was better known for its decorative flatware and silver jewelry, this bowl showcases the firm’s inventive design and dexterous handling of hollowware, which was made in more limited production. The intricate handle is formed of entwined branches and leaves, plums, and copper cherries, with three applied insects—a fly, a beetle, and a spider—further enhancing the object’s lifelike quality. While the vessel was inspired by Japanese naturalism, which was popular among American silver firms of the Aesthetic movement, the realistic details also reference John Ruskin’s belief that truth and beauty emerged from nature. Interestingly, the bowl is stamped with several French import marks, indicating that its American owner brought the bowl into France.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
