Fork

This small fork in a pattern called Curio represents Gorham Manufacturing Company’s most ambitious efforts to replicate the mixed-metal alloys employed by Japanese metalsmiths. When Japan opened ports to trade with the West in 1854, widespread fascination with and taste for Japanese art and craft developed almost immediately in Europe and the United States. Japan mounted extensive displays at The Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, prompting a mania for all things Japanese among American consumers. Gorham responded to the demand for Japanese-inspired wares by creating designs that incorporated decorative elements and mixed-metal techniques reminiscent of those on Japanese works of art. Beginning in the 1860s, the firm was producing hollowware featuring Japanese motifs and asymmetrical compositions. Following the Philadelphia Centennial, Gorham began to explore methods of approximating the colorful, swirling patterns of the laminated mixed metals the Japanese called "mokume," meaning wood-eye or woodgrain, by scattering thin fragments of metals such as copper and brass onto silver and fusing them with heat and pressure. These fused sheets of speckled metals were rolled out to the desired effect and thickness and used to create hollowware and flatware handles. Gorham called the wares featuring this silver flecked and fused with copper, brass, and other metals Curio. Only a handful of Curio hollowware was produced, and the Curio flatware line was limited and short-lived, likely because the considerable expense associated with the labor-intensive process of creating it proved unprofitable. According to Gorham records, Curio flatware debuted in May 1879 and was not a full-line pattern, meaning only thirty-one different pieces were offered. Each of these pieces is an exquisite work of art, revealing dynamic compositions and highly skilled workmanship. By 1880 the Curio pattern no longer appeared in the company’s catalogues. Consequently, extant examples of this pattern are rare. Its shape and tine configuration indicate this fork was intended for eating either salad, pickles, pie, pastry, or fish. That the decorative scheme is an aquatic scene makes the possibility of its use as a fish fork particularly poetic. This fork would have been featured on a lavish dining table as part of a refined dining ritual in which specialized utensils were used to eat and serve a wealth of varied dishes and to signal the affluence and sophistication of its owner.

This small fork in a pattern called Curio represents Gorham Manufacturing Company’s most ambitious efforts to replicate the mixed-metal alloys employed by Japanese metalsmiths. When Japan opened ports to trade with the West in 1854, widespread fascination with and taste for Japanese art and craft developed almost immediately in Europe and the United States. Japan mounted extensive displays at The Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, prompting a mania for all things Japanese among American consumers. Gorham responded to the demand for Japanese-inspired wares by creating designs that incorporated decorative elements and mixed-metal techniques reminiscent of those on Japanese works of art. Beginning in the 1860s, the firm was producing hollowware featuring Japanese motifs and asymmetrical compositions. Following the Philadelphia Centennial, Gorham began to explore methods of approximating the colorful, swirling patterns of the laminated mixed metals the Japanese called "mokume," meaning wood-eye or woodgrain, by scattering thin fragments of metals such as copper and brass onto silver and fusing them with heat and pressure. These fused sheets of speckled metals were rolled out to the desired effect and thickness and used to create hollowware and flatware handles. Gorham called the wares featuring this silver flecked and fused with copper, brass, and other metals Curio. Only a handful of Curio hollowware was produced, and the Curio flatware line was limited and short-lived, likely because the considerable expense associated with the labor-intensive process of creating it proved unprofitable. According to Gorham records, Curio flatware debuted in May 1879 and was not a full-line pattern, meaning only thirty-one different pieces were offered. Each of these pieces is an exquisite work of art, revealing dynamic compositions and highly skilled workmanship. By 1880 the Curio pattern no longer appeared in the company’s catalogues. Consequently, extant examples of this pattern are rare. Its shape and tine configuration indicate this fork was intended for eating either salad, pickles, pie, pastry, or fish. That the decorative scheme is an aquatic scene makes the possibility of its use as a fish fork particularly poetic. This fork would have been featured on a lavish dining table as part of a refined dining ritual in which specialized utensils were used to eat and serve a wealth of varied dishes and to signal the affluence and sophistication of its owner.