Whiting Antique Sterling Silver Nautical Berry or Salad Bowl, NYC, c. 1885

This wonderful bowl has a wavy top rim and undulating body. Large, spiral 'whorl' designs with a hammered surface convey the shape of nautilus shells on each side. They have raised dots, referred to as pearling, a signature design of Charles Osborne.

Three applied splayed feet are delightful nautically inspired ornaments of shells and seaweed.  There are also five applied crabs of various sizes in various locations around the bowl. The underside is later engraved in small block letters 'K.C.F. - W.B.B./ 16 OCTOBER, 1940.'

Charles Osborne was Whiting's most famous and important designer, working for Tiffany & Co. during a period that began January 1, 1879. He returned to Whiting after three years, although he continued to have an unspecified relationship with Tiffany until 1889.

Osborne's designs are some of the most important of the American aesthetic movement; his most creative designs date to this period after he left Tiffany & Co. (See here. This trophy is a promised gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.) The whorl design itself came from Edward C. Moore, Tiffany & Co. Silver Department director. Both Charles Grosjean at Tiffany and Charles Osborne at Tiffany and Whiting made use of the design.

This stunning bowl is marked underneath with Whiting's trademark and 'STERLING/ 1844' and by the Philadelphia, PA retailer 'JE CALDWELL & Co.' The bowl measures 8.5 inches in diameter by 4.25 inches high. Weighs 28.85 troy ounces and is in excellent antique condition.