Charger

Founded by Edward C. Howe in 1905, Onondaga Metal Shops was a short lived company, operating in Syracuse, New York only from 1905 to 1906, when they were purchased by Henry Benedict and renamed Benedict Art Studio. Both companies focused on the production of hand hammered copper and brass wares, and their work represents the artistry and originality that characterized the best of the Arts & Crafts movement. The designs produced by Onondaga Metal Shops are indebted to forms produced in Britain and at Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Workshop. Indeed some wares, including this charger, so closely resemble objects made at Craftsman Workshop that they must have been produced by a craftsman or craftsmen with direct knowledge of and experience with Gustav Stickley’s shop. Syracuse, New York, was a leading center for craft production during the early years of the twentieth century, with Craftsman Worships, L & J.G. Stickley Company and Adelaide Robineau’s pottery all based in the area. This Onondaga charger exemplifies the creative energy that typified the Arts & Crafts communities of Syracuse.