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Discoveries: A Forum that Highlights Important Finds, Significant Objects, New Research, and Museum Acquisitions
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Swan Centerpiece
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Tiffany and Co., 1874
Sterling Silver
H. 14-1/2, W. 13-1/2, L. 24 in.
Illustrated in John Loring,
Magnificent Tiffany Silver (2001)
Courtesy of Rough Point, Newport, R.I.
This dramatic centerpiece was originally created for display at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Though orders could be placed with various styles of ornamentation, this Tiffany and Co. swan may be the only example in existence. Decorated in a style that is commonly associated with the arts of India, the swan is covered with tassels, beads, and scrolls styled in geometric patterns. The late heiress Doris Duke purchased the centerpiece at auction in 1988 and often took it with her from house to house where it was used as an elegant table centerpiece with flowers displayed in the open body and back.
This swan was donated to Rough Point, the Newport, Rhode Island, home of Miss Duke, by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which manages the large and influential charitable grant programs established by Miss Duke to preserve her legacy through the support of her properties. The centerpiece will be on display in the main dining room of Rough Point, which is open to the public -- through November 10. For more information please call 401.847.8344 or visit www.newportrestoration.org.
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Cabinetmaker's Account Books
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1815-1848
Joseph Murphey (1796-1872)
South Berwick, Maine
Courtesy of the Portsmouth Athenaeum, Portsmouth, N.H.
The Portsmouth Athenaeum recently acquired two day books and a corresponding ledger of a previously undocumented cabinetmaker. The account books belonged to Joseph Murphey (1796-1872), who worked in South Berwick on the Maine-New Hampshire border. Covering the years 1815 to 1848, the accounts list an astounding array of both common and very formal furniture made for the best families of South Berwick, Maine, Rolinsford and Dover, New Hampshire, and surrounding towns.
Important items of furniture detailed in the accounts include numerous clock cases for the Quaker iron plate clockmakers of Berwick and Alfred, Maine: Brackett, Rogers, and Taber. Murphey made a great deal of high-end furniture for the Burleigh, Hayes, and Jewett families of South Berwick (including turning the urns for Judge Hayes' fence posts in 1819), the Roberts of Rolinsford, and a large and very expensive suite for Asa Freeman of Dover. The books were recently purchased from Maine booksellers DeWolfe & Wood. For more information about the Athenaeum and its collections, visit www.portsmouthathenaeum.org.
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