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← STORIED OBJECTS / Salmon Gravy Boat
A silver vessel shaped like a fish with a curved tail as a handle and intricately carved details.

Photo by Zvonimir Bebek, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Image Description A silver fish-shaped gravy boat balanced on a low base. The fish’s tail curves upward with fine lines incised into it, and the body of the fish is textured with stamped scales. Its head points upward with a carved line for the mouth angled downward. The eye of the fish is created with several concentric circles.

Salmon Gravy Boat

Graham Stewart described the silver vessel he made at the 2003 Folklife Festival as a “simple salmon shape so kids could understand straight away what I was making.” His modest manner belied his reputation as one of Scotland’s leading silversmiths.

A gravy boat to symbolize the migration of the Scots

The salmon gravy boat was well suited to the varied decorating techniques Stewart wanted to demonstrate during his time at the Festival—the scales, tail, and head all required different tools. The piece took on a special meaning after he decided to finish the bowl back home, as he explained in an interview during the Festival:

“I’ll take it back to Dunblane to make it into a vessel. Rather than bring a lot of flames and dangerous equipment here, I’ll finish it there and then send it back over as a record of the event… I’ve been calling it the ‘Transatlantic Salmon.’ I thought the fish symbolized the migration of the Scots over to North America. This bowl started in Washington, goes back to Dunblane, and comes back again. It symbolizes migration, a meeting together, and a great event!”
Gallery
  • Graham Stewart begins work on the salmon gravy boat, followed by detail views of the underside.
    Object portraits by Zvonimir Bebek, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Stewart remained true to his word and sent the bowl back. It now rests in a display case along “Curator Row” in the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s office. When I contacted him prior to the Festival’s fiftieth anniversary in 2017, he retained fond memories of participating in the Scotland program and agreed that, like many before him, he developed a strong mutual admiration of the other program participants. He also admitted that the experience of listening to Scotland’s finest musicians all in one place was a thrill of a lifetime. His experience of following the music can be seen in a way as mimicking the migration story of his bowl as he traveled halfway across the world (and back again) to hear the great musicians of his homeland. We were saddened to learn from Stewart’s family that he passed away in fall 2020, at the age of sixty-five. His work continues to be admired by all who visit our office.

—Erin Younger, exhibition curator
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