Gorham Manufacturing Company
Flask

Flask

Public Domain

Flask
MakerProvidence, Rhode Island, founded 1831
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Flask
Date1888
PlaceProvidence, Rhode Island, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions7 1/8 × 1 9/16 × 5 3/16 in. (18.1 × 4 × 13.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Dr. and Mrs. John R. Kelsey, Jr.
Object number83.45
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
108 Hevrdejs Gallery
On view

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Department
Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
Object Type
DescriptionAfter the Civil War, Alexander Robey Shepherd became governor of the District of Columbia. He enacted public-works projects that breathed new life into the war-weary city but that also incurred large deficits, forcing him out of office and eventually out of the country. Shepherd moved his family to Batopilas, Chihuahua, Mexico, where he purchased a silver mine. Soon wealthy beyond his dreams, Shepherd returned to D.C. and commissioned the Gorham Silver Company to create 15 sterling-silver flasks (using Batopilas silver) as promotional gifts for various Mexican and American officials. With its saguaro cactus decoration and scenes of an idyllic adobe village, this unusual flask served as a form of advertising for the Mexican silver market.

Provenance[Sotheby & Co., London]; purchased by MFAH, 1983.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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