Bowl
Date1868 - 1896
MediumSilver
Dimensions5 × 7 3/8 inches (12.7 × 18.7 cm) (diameter)
MarkingsMaker's mark on the bottom: S.Kirk & Son [in slight script]/ 11OZ
Credit LineBequest of Margaret Gray Thomas.
Object numberOT1951.166
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 TextLike many Savannahians, the Owens family regularly ordered customized silver tableware from the Samuel Kirk firm of Baltimore, MD. George Welshman Owens, who purchased the home now known as the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters in 1830, completed several orders in the 1850s. His children and grandchildren continued this tradition, as seen with this later 19th-century bowl, engraved with a "T" for Thomas. The elaborate sides are decorated with flowers executed in repoussé and chased, or pushed from the interior of the bowl outward and then incised for detail. The staggered edges around the rim, called crenellations, are derived from medieval European architecture. They reveal the lasting popularity of romantic ideas surrounding the Middle Ages in 19th-century American culture.
