The Onwentsia Club is an 18-hole golf course in Lake Forest, Illinois that opened in 1895. These rare arts & crafts trophies were awarded for the 'Pow Wow'
tournaments - a very unusual affair from what we can determine (see below).
The circular bowls each have a ring pedestal foot with an applied band at the base. Underneath the complimentary band around each top rim is a stunning hand chased design of arrow heads and tomahawks. An
applied circular shield medallion containing a portrait of an Indian chief includes the presentation 'ONWENTSIA CLUB/ POW WOW 1915'.
According to the 1915 American Golfer,
One of the feature events was the "pow wow" marathon in which teams of four played four holes, one man doing the driving, one using the brassey, the third the irons and
the fourth the putter. Low score and the time made in playing the four holes counted. The event was won by a quartet composed of Messrs. E. I. Cudahy, R. H. Poole, A.
R. Baldwin and R. S. Evans, who made the four holes in 16 strokes in 6 minutes. Brave D. A. Noyes of the Glen View tribe, who drove for another quartet found the skirmish
over the links too strenuous and had to call the services of Medicine Man Charles T. Atkinson...
It would appear that people who partook in these events were addressed as Chief, Brave, etc. and their towns referred to as Tribes.
Robert Riddle Jarvie was one of, if not the most, important American arts & crafts silversmith. Born to Scottish immigrant parents, he moved to Chicago and
was working as a clerk for the Chicago Department of Transportation when the arts & crafts movement arrived at the turn of the twentieth century. Jarvie started
making lighting fixtures and his elegant bronze and brass candlesticks are highly sought after by collectors today. By 1910, silver had become his medium of
preference and he focused on custom presentation pieces and trophies, many of which are now in museum collections.
Today, Jarvie's silver is rarely seen on the market; when it does appear, it is usually undecorated. During the 1910-15 period, Jarvie's shop produced some of the
most original silver ever made in America. When decorated, his pieces boast original designs based on Native American antecedents or loosely derived from the
style of the Glasgow arts & crafts movement. Jarvie's very best pieces incorporate these designs in an early modern aesthetic which nicely complements the
blossoming 'Prairie School' architecture best espoused by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Each lovely bowl is marked underneath 'Jarvie/ STERLING/ CHICAGO/ 2065'. They measure 2.5 inches high by 4.75 inches round, weigh 6.55 troy ounces and are in very good antique condition.
Our Price: SOLD
Item code: I825
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