STORIES IN STERLING: FOUR CENTURIES OF SILVER IN NEW YORK

Benjamin Wynkoop (1675-1751), Brandywine bowl (brandewijnkom), ca. 1700. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Bequest of Catharine Augusta De Peyster, 1911.38

Brandywine bowls are traditionally associated with the Dutch New York ritual of the kindermaal, a celebratory feast held in honor of a mother and her newborn child within ten days of the birth. The guests, predominantly female, feasted on sweet cakes and communally sipped a potent brew of brandy and raisins from a bowl such as this.

Myer Myers (1723-1795), Bottle stands (pair), 1770- 1776. Silver, wood, linen. New-York Historical Society, Bequest of Major Philip Schuyler, 1915.18ab

These intricate bottle stands, intended to hold glass decanters or wine bottles, were used on the dining table of Philip Schuyler (1733-1804), one of the wealthiest landowners in the Hudson Valley. Bottle stands with pierced sides and wooden bases provided an elegant means of passing wine around a large table without the assistance of servants.

Tiffany & Co. (founded 1837), Controller handle, 1904. Silver, steel, ebony. New-York Historical Society, Gift of George B. McClellan, 1922.103

Embodying the pride and exhilaration surrounding the completion of New York City’s first subway system, this controller handle was used by Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr. (1865-1940) to operate the first subway train on its maiden voyage on October 27, 1904.

Lewis Fueter (1746-1784), Salver, 1772-1773. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Gift of J. Lawrence Aspinwall, 1928.24

A masterpiece of colonial American presentation silver, this magnificent salver was presented to engineer Captain Thomas Sowers (1740-1774) by Royal Governor William Tryon (1729-1788) as a token of his appreciation for his services in repairing the Battery at the tip of Manhattan. Daniel Van Voorhis (1751-1824), Tankard, ca. 1793. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Bequest of Waldron Phoenix Belknap Jr., 1950.256

Owned by New York merchant Robert Lenox (1759- 1839), this stately tankard is among the few tankards made after the Revolutionary War, and one of the only known Neoclassical New York examples extant.

Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers (1736-1788), Coffeepot, 1775-1776. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mr. Goodhue Livingston, 1951.284

Originally purchased by New York’s Gouverneur Morris during his time in France as the United States minister, this late eighteenth-century coffeepot was sold to Robert R. Livingston, a fellow Francophile and a successor as minister to France.

Tiffany & Co. (founded 1837), Ice cream dish, 1877- 1878. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mr. John Mackay, 1980.14

Embodying the extravagant excess of the Gilded Age, this exotic ice cream dish was part of a 1,250-piece dinner service commissioned from Tiffany & Co. by “silver king” John W. Mackay (1831-1902) for his wife, Marie Louise Hungerford Mackay (1843-1928).

Black, Starr & Frost (active 1874-1929), Aeronautical trophy, 1907. Silver, wood. New-York Historical Society, Bequest of Alan R. Hawley, 1938.250a-c In 1910, champion balloonist Alan R. Hawley (1869- 1938) won this magnificent trophy, the Lahm Aeronautical Cup, for his record-breaking flight from St. Louis, Missouri to Chicoutimi County in Quebec. At a distance of 1,172.9 miles, the two-day flight was the longest balloon trip undertaken in United States history.

Tiffany & Co. (founded 1837), Cigar box, 1930. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Purchase, 2004.49

This lavish box, an example of Tiffany & Co’s “Special Hand Work,” was presented to discerning cigar smoker Al Smith, the self-made New York politician who ascended from the Lower East Side to four terms as governor of the State of New York. Bruckmann & Söhne (active 1805-1973), Table knife and fork from Adolf Hitler’s dinner service, 1939. Silver, stainless steel. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Carl M. Loeb, 1946.10ab

The following caption must be printed in conjunction with any use of the image supplied: A silver knife and fork designed for Adolf Hitler, captured by U.S. forces in Germany and donated to the New-York Historical Society in 1946 by the American Jewish business leader Carl M. Loeb. Now symbols of the American triumph over tyranny, the pieces and the history behind them will be part of the exhibition Stories in Sterling.

John Hastier (1691-1770), Teaspoon, ca. 1720-1740. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mrs. Thomas K. Gale, 1932.117; New-York Gazette or Weekly Post-Boy, May 8, 1758. New-York Historical Society, 83621d

Countless silver objects made in New York City bear witness to the unacknowledged labor of slaves. As indicated by a May 1758 runaway advertisement, the silversmith who marked this spoon owned a slave named Jasper who assisted in his shop.

Benjamin Wynkoop (bap. 1675-1751), Tankard, ca. 1712. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mrs. Arthur T. Sutcliffe, 1952.109

This tankard was presented to Cornelia De Peyester (1690-1756) and Oliver Stephen Teller (1685-1729) for their wedding in 1712, and subsequently donated to the New-York Historical Society along with De Peyester’s wedding ring.

Unidentified maker, Ring, 1600-1712. Gold, diamonds, enamel. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Miss Cornelia Fulton Crary, through Mrs. Arthur T. Sutcliffe, 1952.331ab

William H. Powell (1823-1879), Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902), 1840. Oil on canvas. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mrs. Comfort Tiffany Gilder, 1948.393

Charles L. Tiffany founded the famous silver and jewelry firm Tiffany & Co. in 1837. The business began as a small stationery and gift shop, Tiffany and Young. This portrait depicts the young entrepreneur in 1840, before his firm became a major retailer of fine silver.

Tiffany, Young & Ellis (active 1841-1853), Pitcher, ca. 1850. Silver. New-York Historical Society, Presented in memory of Cruger Delafield Grosbeck Fowler by Mrs. Cruger D. G. Fowler and Family, 1983.7

An early retailer of luxury goods, Tiffany, Young & Ellis offered patrons a wide assortment of stylish table silver, including this Asian-inspired water pitcher. The firm began retailing silver made by others around 1847 and contracted its own silver manufacture starting in 1851.

Attributed to Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1663-1719), Teapot, ca. 1695. Silver, wood. New-York Historical Society, Bequest of Major Philip Schuyler, 1915.20

When this teapot was made during the last decade of the seventeenth century, tea drinking was still a relatively recent phenomenon in the American colonies. Despite its modest proportions, this teapot communicated owners Captain and Mrs. Johannes Schuyler’s status through its connection to the refined ritual of tea drinking and implied access to costly leaves.

Attributed to John Watson (1685-1768), Captain and Mrs. Johannes Schuyler, ca. 1725-1735. Oil on canvas. New-York Historical Society, Bequest of Philip Schuyler, 1915.8