Louis XVI Pattern Dinner Knife
ca. 1909
Medium
cutlery
Classification
cutlery
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Joy Newport Jepson
Accession Number
1991-117-1
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This elegant Louis XVI Pattern Dinner Knife, by master silversmith Joseph E Birmingham around 1909 exemplifies the early 20th-century revival 18th-century French neoc design in American silverware. Birmingham, a prominent figure in the U.S. industry through his firm Birmingham & Co., specialized in finely detailed flatware that drew inspiration from European royal patterns. The Louis XVI style—named for the French king who reigned from 1774 to 1792—features delicate motifs like acanthus leaves, ribbons, and shell forms, evoking the refined elegance of pre-Revolutionary France. As a piece of c...