Asparagus tongs

1855

Place madeNew York, New York, United States, North America

Silver

Overall: 9 3/4 × 3 1/8 × 1 3/4 in., 6 oz (troy) 8.6 dwt (24.8 × 7.9 × 4.4 cm, 200 g)

Gift of the Honorable Perry Belmont

1936.42

On December 28, 1855, the Chamber of Commerce and Merchants of New York presented Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry with a 381-piece silver dinner service in acknowledgement of his successful negotiation of a treaty with Japan in 1854. In the letter of presentation the committee remarked, "To have brought this secluded Empire, into the intercourse of nations; is an achievement which may justly be ranked, among the greatest events of the age..."

Descriptionsilver asparagus tongs; bow-form with wavy-end arms with foliate decoration; one grip in form of a spoon with pointed oval bowl and leaf decoration; other grip in the form of a fork with pointed shoulders and four wide tines; arch engraved with the Perry family crest, an anchor on fess below a hind's head; makers' marks stamped on the inside of the arch.

Markingsengraved: on the undersides of the handles: the Perry family crest, an anchor on fess below a hind's head stamped: on the undersides of the stems: "Wm. GALE & SON" in roman letters

ClassificationsSILVER