Very large Gorhan Sterling Bowl or Centerpiece

[silverdollarbill]

Hello everyone.....hope everyone is doing well during these interesting/challenging times.

I'm not going out that much and from the activity level here, I assume many are in the same boat.

Yesterday, I went to a sales at a very wealthy person's house. First thing I see, right at the front door, is this large silver thing with some old, dry rotted, fake flowers. I check everything and what do you know, it paid off! I was early, but I definitely was not the first person. It was just so large that the others probably didn't bother to check. I think its the largest piece of silver I've ever found in the wild.

It's marked Gorham Sterling 86 with some kind of maker mark in the middle (I feel like I've seen this mark before). I can find a "No 86" on Replacements.com but there is only one piece and the picture is terrible. I also don't know what kind of "bowl" this is. The shape is kind of odd.

Does anyone have a good place to research Gorham patterns (Besides Replacements.com)? What would this type of bowl be used for? Any ideas on the center mark? (It looks very familiar)

happy hunting everyone...bill





It's on a pedestal. The picture above is the bottom.

 

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[Red-Coat]

Nice bowl. The mark is that of the William B. Durgin Company founded in 1853 in Concord, New Hampshire. Gorham bought them in 1905 but they continued to operate under their own name while transitioning to being fully absorbed by about 1924 and then moving to Providence in 1932. They continued producing as the Durgin Division of Gorham until about 1940, using their own mark alongside Gorham's.

I don’t know the pattern off-hand but ornate footed pierced bowls like this were/are just generically sold as ‘centre-piece’ bowls and sometimes as ‘wedding bowls’ (for which purpose they would have been gifted at the time of marriage to hold the bride’s flowers).

 

[silverdollarbill]

Thanks Red Coat....super helpful. I knew that silver mark looked familiar. The usage makes sense too. To me, the center part is shaped a bit like a dog bowl. If I ever get a dog, I think it would be funny to use as a dog bowl. Such a regal dog bowl and a great way to hide it in plain sight! Will update with weight when I find a large enough scale.

thank again!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice score, congrats!

 

[randazzo1]

That’s amazing! Excellent find.

 

[captain flintlock]

What an excellent find! That will polish up really nice too! Well done.

 

[HistoryTeacher]

Great instincts on that find! That is a great piece.

 

[tamrock]

Good one Bill.

 

[jochart]

wow, that first pic looks like a dang hubcap. huuuge!!!!!

 

[Jyorsky]

So what was the selling price for the dog bowl

 

[JimDon]

And that is a solid piece of silver for sure.