Not currently on display at the V&A

Fish Slice

1996 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Alex Brogden's fascination with the reflective quality of silver, so well represented in his electroformed "ripple" dishes, is harnessed in this server to create an object balanced between movement and calm, lightness and strength, the organic and the geometric, and the natural and the man made. This server catches something of the essence of Art Deco as well as a sense of speeding through water; its artful design also conveys a sense of flight.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, cast, pierced and chased
Brief description
Silver, Sheffield hallmarks for 1996, mark of Alex Brogden.
Physical description
The blade is made from fourteen gauge silver sheet, cut and filed into a navette shape and bevelled on both edges. The rear portion is waved, the leading point is pierced with small wave forms. The handle rests on an aerodynamically, forward pitched lift of shaped, oval cross section. It supports, under the leading quarter, a cast, symetrical, pointed, elongated ellipsoid that is corrugated along its length with a wave form; the handle "streams out" from behind the blade.
Dimensions
  • Length: 35.5cm
  • Weight: 647g
Marks and inscriptions
  • Sheffield hallmarks for 1996
  • Mark of Alex Brogden
Gallery label
This collection of silver slices, all commissioned over a period of twenty years by Professor Benton Seymour Rabinovitch FRS, is proof of the skill and diversity of contemporary silversmiths. Each artist craftsman has responded to the familiar functional form of the slice in an individual way, producing an astonishingly diverse range of interpretations. Each piece becomes an enchanting, decorative work of art. Professor Rabinovitch established a close rapport with each artist, always encouraging a freedom of creative expression. The response of these silversmiths has been not only to be strikingly imaginative but also to honour him by giving him their best work. This collection is testimony to the significant contribution that one individual can make to supporting the craft of silversmithing. After commissioning work from some of the most illustrious names in British and North American silversmithing, Professor Rabinovitch has very generously donated his entire collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum, through the American Friends of the V&A.(2005)
Credit line
Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Professor B. Seymour Rabinovitch
Object history
Fish & Cake slice exhibition RF.2004/419
Summary
Alex Brogden's fascination with the reflective quality of silver, so well represented in his electroformed "ripple" dishes, is harnessed in this server to create an object balanced between movement and calm, lightness and strength, the organic and the geometric, and the natural and the man made. This server catches something of the essence of Art Deco as well as a sense of speeding through water; its artful design also conveys a sense of flight.
Bibliographic reference
Rabinovitch, Benton Seymour and Helen Clifford, Contemporary Silver; commissioning, designing, collecting, London, Merrell, 2000. pp36-37. ill. ISBN. 1858941040
Other number
LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.66-2005 - previous loan number
Collection
Accession number
M.39-2008

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Record createdJuly 23, 2007
Record URL
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