_Martelé_ meat dish

The Dallas Museum of Art has an exceptional collection of American-made silver in the art nouveau style. Examples executed by the Gorham Manufacturing Co. form the core of this collection. In 1896 Gorham established a special "school" within its huge manufactory for the production of art nouveau silverware. Using hand techniques, gifted silversmiths wrought pieces of such quality that they even impressed European critics. In 1900, for example, Gorham was awarded the "gran prix" for its art nouveau - style creations at the Paris International Exposition. To emphasize that the pieces were handmade and to strengthen the connection between its products and Paris, the fountainhead of art nouveau design, Gorham named this line Martelé, a French word meaning "hammered." Martelé was felt to be an appropriate name because silver in this line was ornamented by hand using various sizes of hammers.

This dish predates the bulk of Gorham's production in the art nouveau taste that was most popular between 1900 and 1909. Nevertheless, the dish features all the hallmarks of the finest wares in the Martelé line including an undulating outline, shimmering surface, and exceptionally fine chased decoration. Believed to have been ordered by Albert Augustus Pope (1843 - 1909), a wealthy bicycle and automobile manufacturer from Hartford, Connecticut, this dish was used for serving meat. Featured around the rim are the heads of various wild birds and flowers.

"Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection," page 247