Peter Martin
+61 412 599 299
ABN
83 051 137 841
+61 412 599 299
ABN
83 051 137 841
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All Categories CANDELABRA & CENTER PIECES Pair of Rare Australian Sterling Silver Candelabras by Geoffrey Gordon
Maximum Height 370mm
Early 1950's trained as a woodwork and metal work school teacher. Victoria. Diploma of Art (Gold and Silversmithing), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne Victoria Postgraduate course in jewellery and Silversmithing. Royal College of Art London, UK. 1965 - 1984 own silversmithing business in Melbourne.
The Geoffrey Gordon candelabrum that is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is referred to in the book 'The Many Lives of Kenneth Myer' by Sue Ebury at page 356-357.
A precis of the related material:
Ken Myer commissioned a silver candelabrum centerpiece made by Geoffrey Gordon, the goldsmith and silversmith, as a public gift to the NGV in 1971. The candelabrum was really a present for his wife Prue to mark their silver wedding anniversary the following year but she was unhappy about a personal gift gaining publicity through being a public donation.
Ken was so delighted when he first saw the candelabrum that he showed it to others before giving it to Prue, which made her so angry that he had to commission a pair of silver gilt bowls as an additional gift.
Myer had personally financed Geoffrey Gordon's experimental work for some years. In addition. Gordon at some point received a Myer Foundation travel grand to attend a conference in the U.S.A. However, a subsequent dispute over the candelabrum tried Myers' patience to the limit.
Gordon, who was having an argument with the NGV, borrowed the candelabrum for an exhibition but refused to return it. This resulted in protracted correspondence and a decade of litigation by the NGV to get the candelabrum back for the State Collection.
