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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 American Sterling Silver
 Tiffany Mokume Flatware
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| Author | Topic: Tiffany Mokume Flatware |
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FredZ Posts: 1070 |
posted 03-30-2003 11:04 PM
  
I recently involved in a workshop about a laminating metal technique known as Mokume Gane. I am aware that Tiffany and Co used this technique on some of their flatware during Moore's tenure. I am searching for images and any information about the techniques used by Tiffany to create this mottled mixed metal surface. I believe Silver Magazine published an article on this pattern. Can anyone verify if Tiffany imported Japanese craftsmen to teach or work in his factories? Any help would be appreciated. IP: Logged |
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William Hood Posts: 271 |
posted 03-31-2003 01:05 PM
In the mid-1870s Edward C. Moore, Tiffany's chief designer and head of the silver department, experimented in metallurgy and was able to reproduce several Japanese mixed metals. One of these was mokume, a physical mixture made by laminating sheets of silver, gold and other metals and then folding and beating them (analogous to the kneading of pastry dough) to yield an exotic laminar appearance not unlike the grain of fine woods (mokume means "wood-grained" in Japanese). Mokume was mostly used by Tiffany in the form of appliqués on special pieces of hollowware, but rarely was used to make an entire piece. I can recall a Tiffany-made vessel that I believe was a spittoon made entirely of mokume that camp up for auction a few years ago. Mokume was rarely also used on flatware. I am aware of a set of twelve oversized teaspoons made by Tiffany, 1875-1877, each hand-crafted, with a differently styled bowl and a differently shaped handle; each handle was of mokume. In the book, Tiffany Siler Flatware, 1845-1905: When Dining was an Art by Hood et al. (Antique Collectors' Club, 2000), you can see an ice cream spoon with its handle made of mokume (p. 291, Fig. 444a). And in the same photograph, another ice cream spoon with applied mokume decoration. IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 1070 |
posted 03-31-2003 04:03 PM
Thank you for your prompt responce. Do you know if Tiffany has records of these experiments or if there was use of any of the Japanese craftsmen to teach or used as labor in the creation of these exquisite pieces? I have seen an image of a single spoon with a mokume handle. I am curious to know if Mr. Moore had the lamiinates soldered together or if he duplicated the Japanese technique of diffusing the individual alloys to manufacture the billet of laminated metals. The advantage to diffusion is that their is no delamination during the forming process. Solder is brittle and the bond between the diffent metal layers can break under the pressures of a hammer blow. Fred IP: Logged |
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William Hood Posts: 271 |
posted 04-10-2003 09:06 PM
There are no records confirming that Tiffany hired Japanese artisans to come to New York, although this has been suggested. The exact method by which Tiffany laminated the various layers is unknown (at least to me). IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 1070 |
posted 04-11-2003 09:27 AM
William, Thank you for help and time. It is a continual quest for me to seek out information about this period. I know the Japanese forced exposure to the world by Perry had a great influence on all aspects of artwork. Fred IP: Logged |
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