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Snake Pitcher
sterling silver
c. 1885
Gorham
USA

#handmade #sterlingsilver #snake #pitcher #Gorham #Providence #RI #usa #c1885 #late19thcentury #AmericanSilver #aestheticperiod #metalarts #victoriansilver #NewYorkSilverSociety
The iconic snake pitcher by Gorham, 1885. An American masterpiece produced during a period of great experimentation and imaginative adaptations of traditional forms. It epitomizes a pervasive fascination in the United States for the exotic and fantastic and is reminiscent of contemporary snake jewelry, and this particular reptilian motif may have been derived from Egyptian imagery. It may reflect the renewed interest of Victorian audiences in the circumstances of Cleopatra's death, the result of a lethal self-induced asp bite. No less masterful than the overall form of the pitcher is the silversmith's skillful handling of each surface detail. The body of the pitcher was raised and subsequently repousséd to create the desired contour and to form the bodies of the two snakes. The vessel was filled with molten pitch, which quickly hardened, allowing the silversmith to chase the delicate scales and other exterior surface details. When the work was complete, the pitch was melted and poured out.
October 23, 2026 at 6:43 PM
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Two views of a Gorham 'japanesque' water pitcher c. 1882 depicting fish swimming among crashing waves recalling "The Great Wave of Kanagawa" from Kasushika Hokusai's Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

#gorham #handmade #americansilver #waterpitcher #c1882 #rhodeisland #japanesque #japonisme #art
July 22, 2026 at 1:29 PM
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Yes, & I’ve learned a lot about these harms from listening to @elizabethemay.bsky.social & @brandimorin.bsky.social

#CdnPoli #mining #gold #silver #coal #Xinka #Guatemala #Pan-AmericanSilver #EscobalMine
Green party leader Elizabeth May tables Xinka solidarity petition in parliament
YouTube video by MiningWatch Canada
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August 5, 2026 at 11:13 PM