Silver Creamer c. 1936

Curator: Editor: Here we have Giacinto Capelli’s "Silver Creamer", from around 1936, a pencil drawing on paper. What strikes me is the detail, especially considering it's just pencil. It looks so much like the actual metal. What do you make of it? Curator: Well, given the medium, let’s consider this as a document of labor. Someone painstakingly rendered this object with a clear intent to capture its material presence. Does that inscription give you any clue about its function as a display of wealth, of some commission, perhaps? Editor: It's ornate but almost diagrammatic. Like a blueprint for the object, not necessarily about using it to serve cream. Curator: Exactly! Think about the social context of design in the 1930s. Decorative arts often blurred the lines between industry and art. This drawing may be a record of an object for reproduction or study. What does its starkness tell you about its original environment? Was it meant for advertising? Or archival use? Editor: I hadn't considered its purpose beyond simple representation, but the drawing’s almost technical quality makes me think it served some function for designers or artisans working with silverware. It focuses attention on the construction and design of the piece. Curator: Precisely. We can really see here the artistry *in* the making. Silverware carries cultural and class connotations; the drawing presents a sanitized ideal of the object. Do you think the pencil and paper change our understanding of its preciousness compared to if it were an image, a photograph? Editor: Good question! I suppose there's an emphasis on the handcrafted nature of the process rather than pure display. The artist is also performing skillful labour to create the impression of this silver object! It feels like it complicates our relationship to consumerism and hand-making. Curator: It does, doesn't it? That the cream pitcher and monogram drawings, the attention given to this seemingly simple object, demonstrates complex interaction between representation, materiality, and social practice. Editor: I agree; looking closely at its making definitely shifts the way you see it, it's not *just* a pretty drawing.