Silver Tankard 1935 - 1942

Curator: Take a moment with me to appreciate "Silver Tankard," a drawing created with pencil sometime between 1935 and 1942 by Horace Reina. What’s your initial take? Editor: Stark, yet delicate. It reminds me of blueprints, perhaps for an elegant machine part, rendered with a loving hand. Not the usual bravado one expects with metallic subjects. Curator: Absolutely, there's a unique calmness. Drawings like this offered critical insight into design principles in academic settings of the day, even celebrating the cultural significance of ordinary objects. This wasn't just about technical skill. Editor: You can almost feel the cool metal despite it just being pencil on paper. Look how the light gently kisses its surface; I am transported back to smoky pubs of the 30s. Was the appeal purely aesthetic, or were there other layers to its creation during this period? Curator: It's difficult to know for sure, though I’m sure these are preparatory technical sketches from the period with dimensions notated within supplementary diagrams. The appeal would definitely stem from a revival in certain aesthetics connected to folklore. Editor: Right, seeing the revival as perhaps a nostalgic yearn for communal connection—as societies were ever rapidly industrializing, no? What I find also fascinating is the slight ornamental flourishes— the detail almost feels subversive in its delicate rendering! Curator: Precisely. In an era leaning heavily toward functional design, Reina's work hints at how craftsmanship intertwined with daily rituals to preserve cultural pride. The choice to emphasize such a quotidian vessel underscores its symbolic worth, perhaps subtly resisting the starkness of industrialization. Editor: That's insightful. The work serves then not just as art, but as a social object commenting, resisting even, within a turbulent era. I keep circling back to its delicate confidence. A reminder that sometimes the quietest voices have the most profound things to say. Curator: Well articulated. Art always mirrors, or resists, isn't it? A beautifully subtle piece for prompting some significant questions on craft, labor, and historical significance—all within the unassuming lines of a pencil drawing!