England, late 19th-early 20th century / c. 1900
Centerpiece from the Nereid Service
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Centerpiece from the Nereid Service as silver (England, late 19th-early 20th century · c. 1900).
This centerpiece is actually the product of many hands since the Goldsmiths' and Silversmiths' Company operated as a cooperative of silversmiths who sold their work through the company.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this silver as silver and credits Goldsmith's & Silversmith's Company (British).
The museum's collection notes: Originally thought to have been made by the early 19th-century London silversmith Paul Storr because it had been marked with spurious Storr hallmarks, more recent scholarship has revealed that this service, representing the triumph of Great Britain on the high seas through the allegorical images of Grecian nymphs (nereids), was actually made to display at the 1900 world's fair in Paris. Such nationalistic fervor permeated design at the turn of the 20th century, especially in the years leading up to the First World War, when national pride was brought to its heels in Europe through a devastating conflict.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtCenterpiece from the Nereid ServiceOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.