Arthur Stone Arts & Crafts Sterling Silver Decorated Ice Bowl, Gardner, Massachusetts, c. 1930

Examples of decorated sterling from the shop of Arthur Stone are quite scarce and always interesting. Beautifully proportioned, this ice bowl is raised in an inverted bell shape. It has hand drawn applied bands around the rim, a splayed band foot and features the lovely soft hammered surface typical of Stone's shop. Stunning chasing creates 5 grapevines rising from the base. Precise fine lines create the stems. Clusters of 11 grapes hang below a striking design of interwoven vines and leaves.

A very similar bowl of the same proportions, but with different chased decoration, is pictured in Arthur J. Stone, 1847-1938.(1)

Arthur Stone was the undisputed master silversmith of the Boston arts and crafts movement. His shop produced some of the finest silver ever made, and many of the journeymen who worked for him were masters in their own right.

Unlike other shops, Stone allowed his masters to mark their work. In this case, Herman W. Glendenning raised this piece and Stone decorated it. Glendenning worked for Stone from 1920-36 and achieved 'Master Craftsman', the honor for craft bestowed by the Society of Arts & Crafts, Boston.(2)

This bowl is marked underneath with the Stone trademark, 'STERLING', and Glendenning's 'G' mark. It measures 6.5 inches by 4 inches high and weighs 12.90 troy ounces. It is in excellent antique condition.

Endnotes:

1. Elenita C. Chickering, Arthur J. Stone 1847-1938: Designer and Silversmith, (Boston: the Boston Athenaeum, 1994), p. 167.
2. Ibid., p. 181.