An Applied Silver Martelé and Copper Pitcher

By William B. Durgin for Gorham Manufacturing Company, circa 1917

Finely chased to depict a whimsical coiled snake, with applied snake handle to the body, the base stamped with the firm’s mark STERLING SILVER 925-1000 and numbered 45, base further inscribed Bakhmeteff
11 ½ in (29 cm) high

Provenance
The collection of George Bakhmeteff

The William B. Durgin Silver Company began creating utensils in 1853. These high-end sterling silver pieces were originally made in Concord, New Hampshire. They included flatware, hollowware, and centerpieces. A second factory was constructed in Providence, Rhode Island that also produced high quality silver pieces. Durgin was a supplier to American retailers such as Hodgson, Kenard & Co, Black, Starr & Frost, and Bailey, Banks & Biddle. During 1903 and 1904 the firm, expanding rapidly and pressed for space, constructed a massive plant in Concord. By this time, it employed three hundred men and was using approximately 12,000 ounces of silver per week. Durgin is reported to have given enormous amounts of energy to the planning and construction of the new works. But in the next year (1905), both he and his son, George F., died. The firm passed out of the Durgin family and was acquired by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. The purchase of the company by Gorham wasn’t finalised until 1924, and pieces were still produced bearing the Durgin stamped trademark between 1905 and 1924.

Gorham Company was well known internationally for their beautifully crafted silver pieces.  At the turn of the eighteenth century Gorham Company started out in Newport, Rhode Island.  By 1831, Gorham Company expanded their metal medium into the realm of silver.  From here Gorham Company created the Martelé series.  This specific series was a response to the increasingly industrial world around the arts.  The series was comprised of pieces that were hand made and inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement, known for its anti-mass made objects.  Martelé literally means ‘hammered’, where a piece of silver was raised with hammering to the desired shape. The finished piece shows the hammer marks because they are not buffed, creating a hand-made effect. There were three principles upon which Martelé was based: the hammer should be held to the highest standard, designer and craftsman should work as a unified entity (putting all differences aside for the creation of the piece), and work produced should represent the present time.  William Codman, the chief designer at Gorham Company, wanted to increase the relationship between the silversmith and designer, believing both played an important role in the creation of art.

At the turn of the twentieth century Gorham Company reached out to a new market.  In 1899 Spaulding and Co. worked with Gorham Company to help market many of their pieces to a new group of consumers, starting in Chicago and later on Paris.  Through this partnership the company was briefly known as Spaulding-Gorham.  Regrettably, the production of Martelé pieces significantly decreased after 1909.  Some pieces were still made, but not in as large a quantity.  Most Martelé pieces were commissioned after 1909.  Meaning this piece was most likely created for its owner, George Bakhmeteff, as a special commission. Perhaps Bakhmeteff admired the impressive silver snake pitcher made by Gorham in 1885 (now held in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and requested the firm to make another version of this well-known and admired piece.     

George Bakhmeteff was the last Czarist Russian Ambassador to the United States, who served office between the years 1911 and 1917.  Before his service with the United States he served as the Russian Ambassador to Japan.  Through his noble Tatar family lineage and his marriage to Mary Beale, Bakhmeteff was an important figure in the international world.  Mary Beale’s father, Edward Fitzgerald Beale was a naval officer, Indian affair superintendent and a diplomat.  He was friends with the United States President Ulysseus S. Grant, and it is even rumored he was the first man to bring gold flakes from California to the East Coast, thus contributing to the start of the Gold Rush.

The unusual design of this piece creates a sense of wonder. Alluding to the Year of the Snake, this piece represents the power, refinement, and prosperity the snake is to Chinese culture.  While the year of creation is not known, it could be thought that the piece was created and given to George Bakhmeteff around 1917 to celebrate the Year of the Snake. A wonderful coincidence with the current Year of the Snake. 

Other pieces by William B. Durgin may be found in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum.