Erik Magnussen

The Cubic service: light is part of the design

RISD dates its Cubic Coffee Service to 1927, accession 1991.126.488. Magnussen is the designer and Gorham the manufacturer. The museum’s label also credits him with designing, executing and marking this particular service.

The museum describes silver with patination, gilding and ivory. Its four components are a coffeepot, creamer, sugar bowl and tray. These are coordinated surfaces, not simply separate vessels sharing a monogram.

The original 1927 design drawing, RISD 2019.6, adds a conservation story. The museum says its evidence guided conservation treatment after the dark facets had faded. A dark area on silver can belong to the intended design, rather than being something to polish away.

Notice how the tray repeats the vessels’ triangles. Follow the spout, handles and finials, then their reflections. Look as closely as you would at a sculpture.

A 1928 pitcher: read the whole material description

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Pitcher, 1928, names Gorham as maker and Magnussen as artist. Made in Providence, Rhode Island, it combines silver and Bakelite. Accession 2013.959.2 measures 21.6 × 25.4 × 13.3 cm.

This is a useful companion to the coffee service because the catalog does not describe an all-metal object. Keep the nonmetal component in your notes. Total object weight and silver weight are not interchangeable.

When comparing a related pitcher, request full views, handle attachments, the interior and underside. Inspect the relationship between handle and vessel before focusing on a polished surface. A photograph can guide questions without establishing condition or usability.

A later pitcher: preserve the museum’s “probably”

RISD’s Pitcher, circa 1935, is credited to Magnussen alone. The record lists sterling silver and probably Los Angeles as the place of manufacture. Accession 2001.12 is 23.7 cm high. Do not quietly convert that qualified location into a certainty.

The underside record gives a cursive “Erik Magnussen / STERLING / 5” and an unidentified geometric design. RISD tentatively asks whether the latter is a manufacturer’s trademark; the profile leaves that question open.

Set the two pitchers’ records side by side. One credits Gorham and a named artist; the other names the silversmith without Gorham. The difference matters more than a broad stylistic resemblance when you write an attribution.

Candlesticks: initials belong inside a complete mark group

RISD’s Pair of Candlesticks, 1928, combines silver and turquoise. Its record credits Magnussen as designer and Gorham as manufacturer, accession 1991.126.182. The transcribed group reads “GORHAM EM [lion] [anchor] G / STERLING / 45.”

Treat that transcription as evidence for these candlesticks, not a universal Magnussen stamp. The letters, pictorial marks and number are useful together. A lone EM, or a seller’s identification of it, is not enough to authenticate an object.

The turquoise offers another way into the comparison: this designer’s work was not confined to the black-and-gold geometry of the Cubic service. Keep looking at different forms before deciding that one famous piece defines a whole career.