Telfair Museums has just received a major collection of American and English silver, officials announced Tuesday.
Savannah native Dr. Frank Rizza and his family donated the collection as a gift, according to the Telfair. The collection includes about 174 lots, each with multiple pieces dating from the 18th to the 20th centuries, such as a 173-piece flatware service made by Tiffany & Company. Other noteworthy items include a chocolate pot with cover inscribed “M. Telfair” by Samuel Kirk & Son of Baltimore, and a silver spoon by Paul Revere.
Many of the pieces in the Rizza Collection were highlighted in the Telfair’s 2010 exhibition "The Story of Silver in Savannah: Creating and Collecting since the 18th Century."
“I’m really excited about Dr. Rizza’s generous and significant donation," said Tania Simmons, curator of the Telfair's Owens-Thomas House. "People love silver, and I look forward to dazzling our members and visitors with these amazing new additions to our growing decorative holdings."
The donation increases the Telfair’s silver holdings by about 20 percent.
The Telfair will showcase the Rizza Collection in a new exhibition, "Silver from the Rizza Collection," opening March 23 at the Jepson Center.
“I had thought about leaving the silver for some time to the Telfair because it is mostly English and Savannah was an English colony, so it makes sense that it stay in this city," Rizza said. “However, I decided to give the collection to my niece and nephews. But they had decided among themselves that they would like the collection to go to the Telfair. Their wishes helped me make the final decision.”
For more info, visit telfair.org.