Fish Slice
Datec. 1856
MediumSilver
Dimensions11 5/8 inches (29.5 cm)
MarkingsMaker's mark stamped on the handle back: H.P. HORTON
Credit LineGift of James A. Williams.
Object number1968.18.85
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 TextThe earliest fish servers were shaped like a trowel, but in the latter part of the 18th century new designs began to appear and eventually the blade became distinctly asymmetrical, as in this example. The servers were elaborately decorated with pierced and engraved ornament, which could reflect the function of the object, like this one. The handles began to follow the flatware patterns of the day so that consumers could buy matching table cutlery.
This fish server’s handle is engraved “MSC” for Maria Sophia Champion, who was born into a wealthy family of enslavers in 1832, married enslaver James Wallace McAlpin in 1856, and died in 1890. The couple and their five children lived on the McAlpin’s Hermitage Plantation on the Savannah River, and then also in the home left to Maria by her father, the Charles Cluskey designed Aaron Champion House on Orleans Square, now known as the Harper-Fowlkes House.
