This remarkable Gorham sterling silver tea and coffee service, crafted in the 1870s in the Japanese style, was a wedding gift from Senator Jerome B. Chaffee to his daughter, Fanny, upon her 1880 marriage to Ulysses S. Grant Jr., son of President Ulysses S. Grant. The seven-piece set—including a tray, hot water kettle on stand, coffee pot, teapot, creamer, sugar bowl, and waste bowl—is a masterful expression of the Aesthetic Movement, featuring finely chased and repoussé decoration of birds, bamboo, and naturalistic Japanese motifs, all accented with parcel gilding. A superb example of Gorham’s technical and artistic innovation, the service reflects the refined tastes of Gilded Age America and stands as a historically significant work of 19th-century American silver.
