Dessert Fork with Ant and Larva
ca. 1890
Classification
cutlery
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, Decorative Arts Association Acquisition, and Sarah Cooper-Hewitt Funds
Accession Number
1996-56-24
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Step into the whimsical world of late 19th-century French decorative arts with *Dessert Fork with Ant and Larva* Charles Victor Gibert, around 1890. This delicate piece of cutlery transforms a humble utensil into a miniature stage for nature's drama, featuring meticulously rendered ants and their larva. Acquired through a special Smithsonian purchase involving the Decorative Arts Association and Sarah Cooper-Hewitt, it now graces the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection. Gibert, a French artist working in the fin-de-siècle era, exemplifies the era's fascination with hyper-realistic na...