Spoon
A gifted designer who was born in Flushing, New York, and grew up in the California mountains, Knight studied art and design at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Mary C. (Ware) Dennett, who taught gilded leatherworking. Dennett, who later moved to Boston, was one of the founders of the Handicraft Shop of the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, which was established as an educational arm of the Society. It was she who arranged for Knight to become the shop’s manager in 1902. The cooperative nature of the Handicraft Shop meant that while Knight was responsible for designing, raising, and decorating silver objects, the latter two functions were often performed by another silversmith in the shop. Characteristic of Knight’s work is the repeating patterns of floral, foliate, geometric, or lacelike motifs she achieved using leatherworking tools inherited from Dennett. At times they were actually pierced, but more frequently the patterning was picked out in blue or turquoise enamels, as here.
Artwork Details
- Title: Spoon
- Maker: Mary Catherine Knight (American, 1875–1956)
- Date: ca. 1905
- Culture: American
- Medium: Silver and enamel
- Dimensions: 1 5/8 × 5 5/8 in. (4.1 × 14.3 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Jacqueline Loewe Fowler, 2020
- Object Number: 2021.14.12
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Mary Catherine Knight
ca. 1905
Mary Catherine Knight
ca. 1905
John Flanagan
1917
Charles Rohlfs
1904
Samuel Yellin
ca. 1911
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.