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Lot 1025
An American sterling silver navette-form footed centerpiece of United States Naval Interest by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, circa 1913
26 October 2015, 10:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$62,500 inc. premium
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An American sterling silver navette-form footed centerpiece of United States Naval Interest
by Tiffany & Co., New York, NY, circa 1913
The base with pierced balustrade topped with flaming torches, raised on feet cast as rolling waves, with flower frog insert and central removable pedestal surmounted by a three-mast caravel, with dedication to George von Lengerke Meyer, 40th Secretary of the U.S. Navy, monogram: GLM, U.S. seal and U.S. Navy seal and U.S. Secretary of the Navy ensign, total silver weight approximately 247oz troy
height 17 3/4in (45cm); length 21in (53.25cm); depth 13in (33cm).
The base with pierced balustrade topped with flaming torches, raised on feet cast as rolling waves, with flower frog insert and central removable pedestal surmounted by a three-mast caravel, with dedication to George von Lengerke Meyer, 40th Secretary of the U.S. Navy, monogram: GLM, U.S. seal and U.S. Navy seal and U.S. Secretary of the Navy ensign, total silver weight approximately 247oz troy
height 17 3/4in (45cm); length 21in (53.25cm); depth 13in (33cm).
Footnotes
Provenance:
Presented to George von Lengerke Meyer, 1913.
Thence by descent.
with Marks Antiques, London.
George von Lengerke Meyer (1858-1918) was an American businessman and diplomat. Born into the patrician Massachusetts society of Boston Brahmins, he was graduated from Harvard in 1879. For a decade he served as director of various manufacturing and trust companies, banks and public utilities before beginning his public service career in 1889 as a member Boston Common Council.
In 1892 he became a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and served as Speaker from 1894-1897. Governor Roger Wolcott appointed Meyer chairman of the Massachusetts Paris Exposition Managers in 1898. President McKinley appointed him ambassador to Italy in 1900 and five years later President Roosevelt transferred him to Russia.
Meyer was selected 40th Secretary of the Navy by President Taft in 1909. During his term, the Navy made its first experiments with aviation. Pilot Eugene Ely proved the feasibility of carrier-based aviation, by taking off from and landing on a Navy warship. After his retirement in 1913, Meyer became foremost critic of Woodrow Wilson's naval policies, on the outbreak of World War I, he urged preparedness and criticized America's naval administration. He was actively associated with the National Security League and the Navy League.
In December 1916 Meyer, Theodore Roosevelt and other philanthropists purchased the Château de Chavaniac, birthplace of the Marquis de Lafayette in Auvergne, to serve as a headquarters for the French Heroes Lafayette Memorial Fund.
For more information on George von Lengerke Meyer see M. A. De Wolfe Howe, George von Lengerke Meyer: His Life and Services, New York, 1919 and Paolo E. Coletta, "George von Lengerke Meyer", from American Secretaries of the Navy, Vol I, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 1980, p. 496.
The central ship sculpture is an interpretation of Henry Hudson's 'Half Moon' which entered New York harbor on 3 September 1609. It was this exploration that lead to the Dutch claim of the area and the later establishment of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. The Hudson-Fulton celebration of 1909 commemorated the 300th anniversary of his voyage.
Tiffany & Co. is renowned for its presentation silver. Called upon to create pieces to memorialize historic events and the pivotal individuals or organizations, Tiffany had a great tradition of U.S. Navy presentation silver including hollowware, medals and swords. The firm began making silver services for battleships particularly after military build-up during and after the Spanish American War. As the battleships were named after each state that sponsored them, they became a great source of pride for those states. The service for the USS New York was finished in 1916 and comprises 80 pieces, most notably a flower bowl topped with a similar representation of Hudson's 'Half Moon' to the example offered here. The flower bowl is in the collection of the United States Naval Academy Museum.