Durgin Antique Sterling Silver Aesthetic Dish, Concord, NH, c. 1875, retailed by Clemens Hellebush, Cincinnati, OH

Very reminiscent of work by Dominick & Haff, this bowl is in the form of a large scallop shell. It is gilt all over and has a soft, matte finish. Chased in the center of the bowl is a beautiful, japanesque scene of a large waterlily and branches emerging from a pool of water with a large dragonfly above.

From the Jewelers' Cicular:

Mr. C. Hellebush, No. 77 West Fourth Street, both wholesale and retail jeweler, established the business about 1850...Mr. C. Hellebush manages this business and looks fully after the diamond department. His son, Mr. C. H. Hellebush, has full charge of the retail department, ably assisted by Mr. William Wilson McGrew, who is one of Cincinnati’s oldest jewelers. (1)

Provenance: Private collection.

This lovely dish is marked with Durgin's earlier trademark of a bird within a dotted circle with a 'D.' It is also marked 'STERLING SILVER/ 925/1000/ CLEMENS HELLEBUSH/ 40.'

This wonderful dish measures 9.5 inches long by 6.75 inches wide by just under 1.75 inches high, weighs 10.15 troy ounces, and is in excellent antique condition with light to gilding.

Footnote:

1. "On The Road Cincinnati" in The Jeweler's Circular and Horological Review, 1888-1889, vol. 19, pp. 44-45.