Silver Monteith Arrives

Monteith by George Garthorne
Title: Monteith, 1688
Artist: George Garthorne (British active 1669-1730)
Medium: Silver
Provenance: Made for the Royal African Company
Collection: Milwaukee Art Museum
Purchase: Virginia Booth Vogel Acquisition Fund
Image Courtesy of the Milwaukee Art Museum

Recently an important silver piece was added to the collection of The Milwaukee Art Museum.

The Royal Goldsmith, George Garthorne, created this magnificent work in 1688.

A Monteith, named after the Scottish owner of an edged cape, is used to chill wine glasses in an inverted method where the stems would rest in the scalloped rims of the bowl. This piece has excellent silver chasing in the design of Chinese warriors and sages.

Close-up of The Royal African Company Crest
Title: Monteith, 1688 Close-up view of Royal African Crest
Artist: George Garthorne (British active 1669-1730)
Medium: Silver
Provenance: Made for the Royal African Company
Collection: Milwaukee Art Museum
Purchase: Virginia Booth Vogel Acquisition Fund
Image Courtesy of the Milwaukee Art Museum

The central panel features the Royal African Company crest, two African figures flanking a coat-of-arms within a laurel wreath. Historically this company held the exclusive right to Africa slave trade from its founding in 1672 until 1698.

Silver and sea trade went hand in hand in the development of a wealthy merchant class. The sea captain who would profit would invest in Silver as a mark of his success and often would wish the engravings to reflect their careers with nautical themes.

Special Event:

Sunday May 16th, 2004: Guest lecturer Ellenor Alcorn, Consulting Curator for the Jerome and Rita Gans Collection of English Silver at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Milwaukee Art Museum

www.mam.org