 
Figure 1.––Miniature ship presented to Adm. Robert E. Peary by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Loan of Robert E. Peary. In Division of Naval History. (Acc. 52878, cat. 12185; Smithsonian photo 45992.) Margaret Brown Klapthor Presentation Pieces 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. 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 27/8 × 21/8 × 1/2 inches. Bequest of Arthur Michaels. In Division of Cultural History. (Acc. 162866, cat. 383486; Smithsonian photo 36941.) |
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