Nevertheless, when a 72-piece service came up at Sotheby’s in January 2006, it sold for $3,000, or $41.66 each, in contrast to a 20-piece set of Angela Cummings’ Shell, a pattern with seashell images that sold on eBay in May 2006 for $2,202 or $110.10 per piece. Except for a few dealers and astute collectors, the public still seems to prefer recognizable motifs.

The end of the century saw the introduction of silver designed by architects. In 1983, Alessi Officina commissioned 11 postmodern tea and coffee services—four of them by Americans,

Tiffany & Co., New York, three-piece demitasse service with tray, c. 1935, silver, $33,460.

including Michael Graves. Their designs, quite different from those of product designers, are derived from simple-line, large-form perspectives such as Graves’ set, with each piece in the shape of a cube with reeding that extends to the feet. New York dealer Greg Nanamura sees the current interest in silver commissioned by architects from the design studio of Swid Powell as “hot.” A silver-plated salad set by Richard Meier, made and marketed by Reed & Barton, now sells for $475. From an unrelated, yet compatible perspective, silversmith Ubaldo Vitali was commissioned by Movado to create silverware to complement its line of objects that bridged function and aesthetics, including a tea and coffee set formed of conical shapes with handles and finials provided by glassmaker Leonard DiNardo.

The rules for collectible modernist silver are simple: sharp lines, round forms, bold looks. In short, designs that were undesirable or avant-garde yesterday, and therefore made in small quantities, are today enjoying unprecedented popularity, with prices soaring accordingly. In showcasing yesterday’s best silver designs, “Modernism in American Silver: 20th Century Design” offers an invaluable guide to sound collecting.

Janet Zapata is a decorative arts consultant, specializing in American jewelry and silver. She is the author of several books, including The Jewelry and Enamels of Louis Comfort Tiffany, The Art of Zadora: America’s Fabergé, The Jeweled Menagerie with Suzanne Tennenbaum and Seaman Schepps: A Century of New York Design with Amanda Vaill.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

---

►Alan Rosenberg Works of Art
New York
212.989.4061

►Beverly Bremer Silver Shop
Atlanta
800.270.4009

►Greg Nanamura
New York
917.446-4170

►Gus Kollitus
New York
212.736.0947

►Historical Design
New York
212.593.4528

►Lauren-Stanley
New York
212.888.6732

►M.S. Rau Antiques
New Orleans
800.544.9440

►Mark McDonald
Hudson, N.Y.
518.828.6320

►Niederkorn Silver
Philadelphia
215.567.2606

►Spencer Marks
East Walpole, Mass.
508.668.8969