19th century AD

Magazine Antiques, Sept, 2004 by William P. Hood, Jr., John R. Olson, Charles S. Curb

The Victorians adored functional novelties, which in that era included small objects characteristically produced in figural form and usually having a specific use beyond their ornamental role. Such objects were commonly made of silver. After the silver from the Comstock Lode in Nevada (discovered in 1859) began to reach the market in quantity, the price of silver fell continuously for the remainder of the century. This, combined with the prosperity that followed the Civil War, created a large demand for silver novelties of all sorts. American manufacturers responded by turning out an almost endless variety of such goods, ranging from items for amusement and personal grooming to implements for writing, sewing, smoking, and dining. (1)

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An early leader in the dining category was the Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island, which was exuberantly creative in the late 1860s, introducing a quantity of specialty and novelty silver flatware patterns. These included Medallion, (2) Stag, (3) and Bust (4) (all November 1867), Square Medallion (5) and Lion (6) (both December 1867), and Ladies (7) (March 1868). In March 1869 an astonishing seven patterns were released, several of them highly original and one the subject of this article. They were Hound (8) (March 16), Egyptian Ivy (9) (March 17), Ball (10) (March 22), Egyptian (also called Sphinx) (11) and Bird's Nest (both on March 25), Olive Branch (12) (March 29), and Lotus (13) (March 30).

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In terms of innovation, whimsy, and charm, few patterns rival Bird's Nest. The handle stem is cast as a three-dimensional twig, the top end dividing into three small branches that support an applied three-dimensional bird's nest containing three eggs (see Pls. I, IV). On most pieces a figural bird is perched on or next to the nest. Birds had been a relatively common decorative theme on American flatware from about 1750 to 1830, (14) and they became so again in the 1870s with the introduction of Tiffany and Company's Japanese pattern, (15) Gorham's Japanese pattern, (16) and a number of Japanesque bird-decorated patterns by other makers. (17) To our knowledge, however, birds' nests had appeared on flatware only rarely and not prior to this era in three-dimensional form. Around the time of Bird's Nest, the Whiting Manufacturing Company of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, and New York City produced two patterns (names unknown) depicting mother birds with nests containing baby birds, one in three dimensions and the other in high relief. Both were produced in such small quantity as to be almost vanishingly rare today, and neither has been published.

Bird's Nest is highly sought but seldom found by today's silver collectors. Although many flatware enthusiasts are aware that the pattern has more than one handle motif, few have any idea of the number of variations or of the range of piece types made. Little has been written on the subject. Three forms in the Bird's Nest pattern were illustrated in a one-page report in Silver Magazine in 1985. (18) In a brief follow-up article in the same publication in 1990, Diana Cramer summarized information extracted from the Gorham Company archives about the forms offered in the pattern when it was first introduced and reported four additional pieces observed by her. (19) Few design details were provided. The same three pieces from the first article and a teaspoon were illustrated.

We have had the opportunity to examine these and many other forms in the pattern, many of them previously unknown. Our analysis reveals the pattern to be, considering its novelty status, surprisingly complex in both handle design and functional-end forms. In this article we will consider first the handle design, and then functional-end forms and their intended functions.

The handle in Bird's Nest occurs in eight variations that differ with the size and type of piece (see the table on p. 115). All have a cast stem with realistic surface texture for a tree twig but with joints of the kind that might be found on bamboo rather than a tree. (20) What we shall call variation Number 1 is found on large pieces such as the ice spoon (Pl. IV) and has a stem that measures approximately 4 3/16 inches long from the trifurcation to the join with the functional end, with a maximum diameter of about 5/16 inch. A disconnected leafless vine entwines the central part of the stem. On the front, just below the nest, there is an applique of three small ivy leaves. (21) Also on the front, overlapping the join, are two larger grape leaves and on the back one to three grapes. (22) The realistically cast and fairly deep nest is partially suspended in space by the terminal branches of the twig and the ivy leaves (see Pls. IV, V). The eggs are integral to the casting. Usually the interior of the nest (including the eggs) is gilded. A separately cast figural bird with spread wings is applied on the edge of the nest variously between eleven o'clock and one o'clock. The bird may take either of two forms: the more common has its head turned toward the left (Pl. I); the other, which is slightly smaller overall, has its head turned toward the right (Pl. XII, left). Lacking legs, the bird is more contrived than realistic and is disproportionately small compared to the size of the nest on this large handle variation. (23)