MORRISON HECKSCHER: With its undulating waves and swirling plants, this magnificent ewer and stand embodies the Art Nouveau style. Forming the handle is a sensuous female form that also recalls seventeenth-century Mannerist silver. It was made by Gorham, one of America’s oldest silver manufactories, based in Providence, Rhode Island. American Decorative Arts Curator, Beth Wees.

BETH WEES: And the interesting thing to me about this is that Gorham started out in an attempt to make silver for everyone so that the average householder could own silver. But towards the end of the nineteenth century, when the Arts & Crafts movement began to cherish the handmade look, the managers of Gorham decided that it would be nice to have a line of handcrafted silver.

MORRISON HECKSCHER: So Gorham developed Martelé, from the French word for “hammering.” This was basically a technique for chasing, or sculpting the silver with hammers to form these swirling relief motifs.

BETH WEES: Most American silver is of the sterling standard, which is 92.5% silver. And during the period of the manufacture of Martelé, the silver was actually 95% pure silver.

MORRISON HECKSCHER: This, of course, translated into a higher price tag. But the metal was also heavier and softer. And befitting the Arts & Crafts credo, its surface texture actually reveals the marks left in the metal as it was hammered by hand.