Gorham 'Isis' Pattern Antique Sterling Silver Pie Server, Providence, RI, c. 1870

Creative and innovative, Gorham's very rare Isis pattern was designed c. 1870 by their lead designer George Wilkinson. It has a rectangular handle end that terminates with a button. The central part of the handle is round and looks like a lotus plant in bud. Connecting the functional end with the handle is a conjoined cobra and vulture wings, the traditional symbol of the United Kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt worn on the Pharaoh's crown. The gilded blade of this pie server features bright-cut engraved decoration of papyrus plants. Only some Isis pieces include the more expensive engraving or piercing.

Egyptian design became popular at the end of the 1860's and Gorham's Isis pattern reflects the Egyptian taste in design. Also, its lean design displays a sense of modernism to us living in the 21st century. A fine example of this pattern, a fish serving fork and slice in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art, is illustrated in Silver in America by Charles Venable, p. 69, fig. 3.26.

This wonderful pie server measures 9.25 inches long and 3 inches across the blade. It weighs 2.5 troy ounces and is in very good/ excellent antique condition with minor scratching to the blade from use and marked with Gorham's trademark, "STERLING" and by the retailer "S. Hogan". It has never been monogrammed.