Gorham Rare 'Circa 70' Sterling Silver Pitcher, Providence, RI, 1960

This rare pitcher is a stunning sculptural design. It was designed by Gorham's famous designer Donald H. Colflesh, called 'Circa 70' and introduced in 1960. "The tiny pamphlet that accompanied pieces suggested that space travel was a source of inspiration, the design expressing 'a feeling of vertical motion... the upward look to space'". (1)

This pitcher exhibits dramatic new styles of the 1960's. The squat, wide bottom section rising to a tall, slender neck is very intriguing. The shaped ebony handle contrasts and reflects beautifully against the polished body. On the interior of the pouring spout is a strainer for ice and/ or fruit.

Objects in this design are extremely rare. 'Circa 70 was the last major contemporary holloware group to be produced by Gorham in the twentieth century'. (2)

This rare pitcher comes with a contemporaneous tray with a sterling rim and Formica interior.

This wonderful pitcher is marked underneath with Gorham's trademark and 'Gorham/ 1480/ 3 PINT' along with the hexagonal date mark for 1960. It measures 11.5 inches tall to the top of the handle, weighs 29.10 troy ounces, has never been monogrammed and is in excellent condition.

Endnotes:

1. Jewel Stern, Modernism in American Silver 20th-Century Design, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), p. 257.
2. Ibid., pp. 258-59.