Gorham Martelé Antique Silver Child's Bowl and Plate, Providence, RI, 1907

This lovely bowl and plate are great examples of Gorham's Martelé silver. The surfaces sparkle with beautiful, irregular hammer marks. Entirely raised by hand, the borders have undulating surfaces and wavy edges.

Rising from the wide border of the plate are beautiful daisies - stems with leaves and flowers in bloom. Along with these dramatic chased flowers are smaller engraved sprigs.

The bowl is spectacular, incorporating the same intricate floral designs into the wonderful irregular shapes of the bowl.

On one panel of the bowl and in the center of the plate is the artistic monogram 'FWH'. The underside of the bowl is engraved 'APRIL 21, 1907' and the underside of the plate is engraved 'FROM HIS GREAT AUNT/ ELLA F. HUBBY/ APRIL 21, 1907'.

Frank Winfield Hubby Sr. was 'founder of the Ojai Valley Improvement Company and the developer of Ojai Valley, Calif., who with a partner built the Bear Valley Dam. (1) He had two sisters, Sarah Louise and Ella French. (2)

Frank Hubby, Jr. was an attorney in NYC. (3)

Frank Winfield Hubby, III was born on April, 21st, 1907 in New York and he, too, was an attorney working for 50 years in Manhattan for Breed, Abbott & Morgan after graduating Yale University and Harvard Law School. (4) The birth flower for April is the daisy which is incorporated into these pieces.

Both the bowl and plate were raised by Frederick Richard Avery. James L. Anthony then chased the bowl for 22 hours. The plate was chased by J.F. Jordan and took 20 hours. (5)

The Martelé line of silver was the finest art nouveau silver made in America. Individually designed and executed, each piece is a unique work of art. Every piece was handmade - no machines were used in Martelé production. It is even made of higher grade silver than sterling (.925): Britannia silver used in Martelé is .9584 silver and more expensive than sterling.

This rare Martelé child's bowl and plate are marked underneath with Gorham's company and Martelé line trademarks along with 'Martelé', the silver standard '.9584' and with the codes 'M/XJ' and 'M/XK''. The bowl measures 5 inches in diameter, 2.25 inches high, weighs 8.75 troy ounces and is in excellent antique condition with some light scratching to the original gilding inside but very nice crisp details to the design outside. The plate measures 7.25 inches in diameter, weighs 8.15 troy ounces and is in good/ very good antique condition with some wear to the decoration and some scratching and pitting from use.

Endnotes:

1. Paid Notice: Deaths, "HUBBY, FRANK WINFIELD III.", in The New York Times, Published November 9th, 2005.
2. Heritage Pursuit, heritagepursuit.com, copyright 1998 by Allen T. Potts, last access 7/22/2014.
3. Ibid.
4. Paid Notice: Deaths, "HUBBY, FRANK WINFIELD III.", in The New York Times, Published November 9th, 2005
5. Larry J. Pristo, Martelé: Gorham's Art Nouveau Silver, (2002; Phoenix: Phoenix Publishing Group), p. 391.