Charleston Loan Exhibition

42 Baldwin Gardiner (American, working 1814–1848) Pair of pitchers New York, NY, ca. 1829 Silver H. 13¾4 x Diam. 4 ‡/* inches Stamped on underside in serrated cartouche: B . Gardiner / New . York Historic Charleston Foundation, Charleston, SC, gift of the heirs of Mary Green Maybank, 2000.3.1 Conservation sponsored by The Brass & Silver Workshop Formerly in partnership with his brother Sydney Gardiner and Thomas Fletcher in Philadelphia, Baldwin Gardiner established his own firm in 1827. These water pitchers were inherited by Governor William Alien Jr. from his mother Henrietta Wyatt Aiken. According to a contemporary recounting from Aiken, his family silver was valued at approximately fifteen thousand dollars, and he added an additional thirty thousand dollars worth of plate to this collection. In an attempt to safeguard his belong- ings during the Civil War, he buried his silver; however, “soldiers dug up this treasure-trove, and…[the] fine silver went to enrich the spoils of the Union army…” 1 Notwithstanding, several fine examples of American- and English-made silver from the service survived and are exhibited at the Aiken Rhett House Museum, operated by Historic Charleston Foundation. BSC 1. Nathaniel Bishop, Voyage of the Paper Canoe (New York: Charles T. Dillingham, 1878). http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/nhb/paperc/c12.html, January 8, 2011. William Gale and Son (American, 1862–1867) Fish slice and fork New York, NY, patented 1847; manufactured ca. 1862 Silver Slice: L. 13½ x W. 1½ inches; Fork: L. 10 ⁄/* x W. 1 ‡/* inches; (case) L. 14 ⁄/* x W. 4 x H. 1¼ inches Stamped: WG & S and PATENTED 1847 Historic Charleston Foundation, Charleston, SC, gift of the heirs of Mary Green Maybank, 2000.3.17 Transportation supported by Mr. and Mrs. Neil Fisher Throughout much of the nineteenth century, the Gale family of silversmiths dominated the silver manufacturing business retailing goods to other prominent firms. William Gale, Sr. (1799–1867), who patented a production method that shortened the time to make spoons, amassed a fortune that equaled that of the wealthy patrons for whom his business produced goods. This set, in its original box, features the initials “HR” for Henrietta Rhett, the only surviving child of Governor William Aiken and his wife, Henrietta Lowndes Aiken. Although the Gothic style in architecture and decorative arts in general was prevalent at the time, Gothic silver is very rare, and this set is in one of the few documented patterns. While both pieces have gothic-shaped handles, the fish slice is further embellished with two engraved scenes surrounded by garlands, one of a pheasant flying in a landscape and the other of a rural village. It is thought that the set was purchased for Henrietta Aiken (1836–1918) on her marriage to Andrew Burnett Rhett (1831–1879) in 1862. BJO, BSC