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Pair of Sauceboats
Thomas Fletcher (Philadelphia)
c. 1830
- Medium
- Silver
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Dimensions
- Ea. 21.3 × 22.9 × 10.5 cm (8 3/8 × 9 × 4 1/8 in.); 2013.71.1: 840.5 g; 2013.71.2: 855.3 g
- Culture
- Philadelphia
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society
- 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
Made by preeminent Philadelphia silversmith Thomas Fletcher, this pair of sauceboats reflects not only the vogue for French-inspired classical designs but also significant advances in the industrial and technological production of silver that took place in the 19th century. Coinciding with the American industrial revolution, silver making became increasingly mechanized through the introduction of flat rolled silver and die-rolled bands—three of which appear as decorative borders on each sauceboat. The elegant oval bodies with upswept spouts are typical neoclassical forms; however, the handles add distinct flourish: the bold yet refined bud-shaped handles have no known precedent and are original to Fletcher.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
