Sugar Bowl

Maker Samuel Kirk & Son ((active 1846-1979))

Datec. 1847

MediumSilver

DimensionsOverall: 10 1/4 × 7 1/4 × 6 1/4 inches (26 × 18.4 × 15.9 cm)

MarkingsMaker's mark stamped on the bottom of the bowl: S. KIRK & SON 11.OZ

Credit LineGift of Mr. William K. Wallbridge.

Object number1959.9.a-.b

On View

On view

CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextThrough much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Samuel Kirk silversmith firm had a strong following, especially in the American South, for silver with robust repoussé and chased ornament, executed by hand. The combination of repoussé, in which shapes are pushed up in the silver from the back, and chasing, in which details are engraved in the surfaces, produces intricate, garden-like patterns. The Kirk firm fine-tuned their products and their decoration to customers’ specific orders. While taking one of Telfair Museums founder Mary Telfair’s orders with her sister Margaret, a clerk noted that “they like flowers to distinction and go in for Antique” (sic). Mary Telfair first ordered this sugar bowl from the Kirk firm during a trip to Baltimore with her sister Margaret in 1847, and a small sketch of the design for it appears next to the notes about her preferences. A later, undated note with sketches documents Mary's desire to change the handle style to those that appear on the sugar bowl today. Text written for 'Lingua Flora,' on view from June 21–September 8, 2024.

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