WHAT: Back when silver table pieces and flatware were a must-have for new brides, many prized pieces came from Gorham, a silver manufacturer in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded around 1815 and now known as Gorham Corp., the company was one of the first to use factory methods to produce silverware, and also to employ silver designers. Gorham produced many remarkable ornamental pieces in sterling around the late 1800s to 1910, especially ornate Art Nouveau pitchers.
At the time, when a fine table boasted pieces for every possible use and one could hardly reach a plate for all the fancy silver on the table, aesthetic and unusual pieces included ice buckets, such as the one shown here. Unusual and ornamental, the circa 1870 piece brought $45,000 at Christie’s New York. Pre-sale estimate was $15,000 to $25,000.
MORE: Pre-refrigeration, ice was a costly commodity and having an ice bucket signaled status and wealth. Measuring close to 11 inches across and weighing almost 1.5 pounds in the form of an iceberg with icicles and handles mounted with polar bears, the bowl with a gilt interior is indeed impressive. As decorative American silver goes, this is a 10.
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SMART COLLECTORS KNOW: The 1867 buy of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million and the introduction of this design are connected, as ice became a hot interest. Add the advent of new technology to harvest and sell ice to the monied class, and ice buckets became fashionable.
HOT TIP: Gorham archives list this ice bowl as No. 125, with a manufacturing cost of $81.96. The company made a variety of ice bowls, but this version was most popular. From the start, it was a premium item available at fine jewelers.
BOTTOM LINE: In January 2017, Christie’s sold another of the same bowl, with the same pre-sale estimate. The result then was $52,500. Smart collectors know that the first appearance of a desirable item is news. The second is well, secondary.
