| This is an unusual five-piece sterling silver tea set by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in a fantastic Aesthetic Movement design. The set is comprised of a coffee pot, teapot, creamer, covered sugar bowl, and waste bowl. Each piece stands on a bracketed circular base with a notched band and a small beaded border, and has a low-bellied pyriform body with engraved bands of strapwork in a Renaissance Revival or Eastlake design, and a conforming monogram with the letters MRW. The coffeepot and teapot both have high necks with a simple band of beading at the bottom, and are each topped with a circular low-domed hinged lid trimmed with a band of laurel leaf decoration and an engraved band of abstracted leaves, completed with a banded button finial. Both also have a long, angular spout with a curled rim, and an unusual angular handle, embellished with a small, applied strawberry and a charming ribbon bow, which bifurcates to attach to the body terminating with leaves. The creamer, with the same handle, has a lovely shaped spout, while the waste bowl has two conforming side handles, and the sugar bowl has two side-handles in a bound loop design also embellished with a strawberry and bow, and with a conforming removable lid. Each piece is in excellent condition and is expertly crafted. Each piece has the maker’s mark of Gorham, the word sterling, the date symbol for 1871, and pattern number 811, while the waste bowl also is marked with the number 1, and the teapot is marked with the number 3+ and 6 ½ pints. This wonderful antique coffee and tea set is particularly noteworthy for its proto-modern design that recalls the work of progressive designers such as Christopher Dresser. This very early and complete service by Gorham would make a fine addition to any silver collection. Price: $6,500.00 Stock #BC506 |