Contemporary Silver Servers:
The Rabinovitch Collection

Exhibition Essay

Benton Seymour Rabinovitch’s marvelous collection of contemporary silver slices, numbering 80-plus works in 2003, grew by two to four new works every year. Rabinovitch’s dedication to commissioning and supporting silver-based artists was readily apparent in this exhibition.

In the 1970s Rabinovitch began collecting antique silver. He chose to concentrate his collecting activities on slices, the broad-bladed silver servers that became part of the repertoire of table service utensils at the tum of the 18th century. They added elegance to the service of fish or dessert. The three historical examples on display, dating from the last decades of the 18th century, showed the varied blade shapes, as well as the common practice of piercing and engraving the handle and blade surfaces with elaborate decoration.

Since the late 1980s Rabinovitch shifted his collecting interest to the commissioning of contemporary interpretations of this largely historical object, granting the artists complete freedom as to the work’s design and ornamentation. He stipulates only the use of sterling silver, and was open to the incorporation of other media. The results of these commissions are as spectacular as they are captivating.

Many of the slices are literal translations of their function. References to fish, other sea life, and their watery habitat surface throughout the exhibition. Others, rather than remaining true to purpose, investigate sculptural concerns, at times eliminating practical application. Some slices refer stylistically to the movements of Arts and Craft, Art Deco, and Scandinavian modernism; others speak to their makers’ expertise in jewelry design, existing as exquisite statements of beauty. All can be understood as exuberant explorations of form, function, and material.

The multitude of artistic approaches to the Rabinovitch commissions speaks to the innovative and vibrant practice of contemporary silver-based artists. His collection was roughly half British and half North American in production, affording his scientific mind an opportunity to make comparative evaluations regarding the two origins. His observations found the British artists to be technically more brilliant, whereas the North Americans led in creativity.

Rabinovitch’s collection of contemporary slices was previously exhibited at London’s Goldsmiths’ Hall, the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, the Seattle Art Museum and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Helen Delacretaz
Associate Curator, Decorative Art & Contemporary Fine Craft
The Winnipeg Art Gallery

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