Ice Tongs

MakerMark of Samuel Kirk & Son ((active 1846-1979))

Date1868 - 1896

MediumSilver

Dimensions7 3/4 × 1 3/4 inches (19.7 × 4.4 cm)

MarkingsMaker's mark on the inside of the arm: S. KIRK & SON 10.15

Credit LineBequest of Margaret Gray Thomas.

Object numberOT1951.170

On View

Not 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. These tongs are part of a collection amassed over several generations by the Owens and Thomas families, who owned the home that is now known as the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters. Text written for the exhibition 'Lingua Flora,' on view from June 21–September 8, 2024.

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