AN UNIDENTIFIED MAKER
PROBABLY GERMAN
19th CENTURY
4.5" l., .6 troy oz.
GTM551
RECENT ACQUISITION The origins of the tussie mussie occurred in the Medieval time. The portable floral arrangement was meant to keep the nose happy or gay. It arrived in this country with the colonists, who referred to them as tussie mussies. The English preferred the term of nosegay. They became fashionable during Queen Victoria's reign, when they became a messenger of affection. Each sprig of aromatic herbs for flowers was chosen for its meaning according to the language of flowers. Traditionally, the center flower was a rose, which means love.
The removal of the replaced ball at the pinnacle of the cone liberated three legs, allowing the arrangement to be displayed on a table top.
EXQUISITE GERMAN 800 STANDARD SOLID SILVER FISH SERVING SET
2.25"h., 3.25"l., 3.25"w., 6.8 troy oz.
CB700 Engraved "WR"
William Spratling, also referred to as the father of Taxco's silver industry, pursued an academic career upon graduation from Auburn University. In 1926, he ventured to Mexico to give a lecture on colonial architecture and quickly fell in love with Mexico's art, history and people. Spratling promptly quit his teaching job at Tulane, moved to Mexico and wrote a book entitled Little Mexico. While living in the little village of Taxco, he grew to adore silver. Spratling once said, �The true color of silver is white, the same color as extreme heat and extreme cold. It is also the same color as the first food received by an infant, and it is the color of light...� He took it upon himself to revive the town's silver mine that had been dormant for two centuries. Spratling's charisma and dedication to simple design charmed not only his rapidly growing staff, but also clients like Saks Fifth Ave., Emperor Haile Selassie, Tiffany & Co., Lyndon Johnson, Orson Wells and Neiman-Marcus. In 1948, President Eisenhower asked the famous silversmith to instruct the Alaskan Eskimos how to develop their own arts and handicrafts, like he has taught the Mexicans. When he died in 1967, the town of Taxco was draped in mourning for the grey-eyed man that exuded warmth and enthusiasm. It is said that William Spratling commanded respect but never demanded it.
INTRICATE CZECHOSLOVAKIAN SOLID SILVER AND VERMEIL SNUFF BOX
MARK OF JOHAN ROHDE FOR GEORG JENSEN
COPENHAGEN
CIRCA 1925
Bowl - 4.5" top dia., 4.25" h., 6.1 troy oz.
Spoon - 5" l., 1 troy oz.
CBS2162
SOLD Though the marks on the spoon differ from the marks on the bowl, these two masterful examples of the Jensen workshop were acquired and function well together.
