Presentation Pieces
In the Museum of History and Technology
_As a social document, the collection of presentation pieces, mostly
silver, in the United States National Museum provides evidence of the
taste and craftsmanship in America at various periods from the mid-18th
century to the 1920's._
_Although the representative items selected for illustration confirm the
view that such pieces often lack artistic merit, the collection
nevertheless reveals the deeds--in war, politics, technology, diplomacy,
sports--that our forebears deemed worthy of special recognition. And it
helps to bring alive some figures now submerged in our ever-expanding
history._
THE AUTHOR: _Margaret Brown Klapthor is associate curator of political
history in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of History and
Technology._
The custom of giving a piece of silver to an individual in recognition
of service or in appreciation of accomplishment probably began as soon
as man developed the fashioning of that metal into objects. Such a
presentation piece was a tangible and durable form of recognition which
could be appreciated, used, displayed, and enjoyed by the recipient.
Many of these silver pieces became for succeeding generations the
cherished evidence of recognition accorded to an ancestor, and they were
preserved long after the more customary family silver had worn out or
been lost.
The Smithsonian Institution's Museum of History and Technology has
what may well be the most varied and extensive collection of such
presentation pieces ever to be preserved and exhibited in one place. The
collection contains the work of some of the more prominent American
silversmiths, but most of the pieces are by lesser known makers and
are in the collection because of historic interest rather than artistic
merit. The chief usefulness of the collection lies in its value as a
social document and in the mute evidence it gives of the taste and
craftsmanship of the periods covered. The collection is also helpful
in dating type specimens that do not have specific associations with
persons and dates. Perhaps even more interesting than the gamut of
styles that the collection presents is the panorama of deeds, events,
and persons that our forebears considered worthy of recognition.
Silver presentation pieces were awarded to persons in almost every
walk of life--to military men, to peace-loving Indians, and to men
who achieved success in politics and agriculture. They were given for
sea rescues, for heroic deeds by firemen and school-patrol boys, and
for outstanding community and civic work. Within our time they have
been given as trophies for excellence in athletics, automobile
racing, and many other events.
[Illustration: Figure 2.--SNUFFBOX inlaid with mother-of-pearl and horn
made around 1769 by William Cario, who worked in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. The box measures 2-7/8 x 2-1/8 x 1/2 inches. Bequest of Arthur
Michaels. In Division of Cultural History. (Acc. 162866, cat. 383486;
Smithsonian photo 36941.)]