Silver Sugar Urn c. 1938

Here we see a silver sugar urn, designed by Hardin Walsh. The urn is adorned with symmetrical motifs, reflecting a deep-seated human desire for order and balance. The leaf motif on top, while seemingly simple, echoes through art history as a symbol of life, growth, and renewal. Think of the laurel wreaths of ancient Greece, emblems of victory and status, that were later reconfigured in Renaissance paintings to represent the virtues of the figures depicted. Such symbols carry immense cultural weight, evoking feelings tied to our collective past. This careful balance and ornamentation, can be seen as an attempt to control nature, to bring order to the chaos of existence, expressing profound emotions of control and elegance. Like palmettes and lotus flowers in ancient Egyptian art to evoke themes of rebirth and eternity, the symmetry of this urn reflects our primal quest for harmony. This yearning for order is cyclical: an attempt to ward off the anxieties of the unknown.