Gorham Manufacturing Company
Asparagus Tongs

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Asparagus Tongs
  • from the "Isis" pattern
Datec. 1870
Made inProvidence, Rhode Island, United States
MediumSilver and silver gilding
Dimensions12 1/4 × 1 5/8 × 1 3/4 in. (31.1 × 4.1 × 4.4 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Dr. William P. Hood, Jr.
Object numberB.2003.16
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Metals Study Room
Exposé

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionEgyptian motifs first appeared in American architecture and decorative arts during the early years of the 1800s. By the late 1860s, the Egyptian taste once again grew in popularity, prompted in part by the international attention paid to the Khedive Ishail Pasha's modern nation (1863–1879). Its ambitious program of reforms and innovations included the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869. Certainly, it is no coincidence that during this period Egyptian designs proliferated at Gorham, which introduced no fewer than four patterns in 1870.
ProvenanceDr. William P. Hood, Jr., Dothan, Alabama; given to MFAH, 2003.
Exhibition History"Egyptomania," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March18– August 5, 2012.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Monogrammed on lower blade:
Stamped on inside of handle: STERLING
Marked on inside of handle, Gorham stamp: lion, anchor and old English G.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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