Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database
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Charger
Brief descriptionBas-relief charger attributed to Cyril Colnik, Milwaukee, late nineteenth or early twentieth century.
Object nameCharger
Alternate object namePlate; Plaque
MakerColnik, Cyril, 1871-1958
Date1893-1955
Dimensions20" diam.
Materials and techniquesGalvano
Original locationMilwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Current locationMilwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
DescriptionBas-relief charger depicting Adam and Eve driven from the Garden of Eden.
HistoryAccording to the Villa Terrace, this large plate or plaque is a galvano--a shell created by electroplating metal over a plaster form.

Trained in Vienna and Munich, master metalworker Cyril Colnik settled in Milwaukee in 1893, where he created decorative wrought iron work for dozens of homes and public buildings until his retirement in 1955. He also designed vases, candlesticks, door hardware, and other ornamental wares in a variety of styles. The Colnik Collection of the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum includes more than 200 examples of Colnik's work donated to the museum by his daughter Gretchen Colnik in 1991. The Villa Terrace is also home to the Colnik Archive, an extensive collection of original drawings, blueprints and photographs donated by the Kohler Foundation in 2002.
SourcesBertha Kitchell Whyte, Craftsmen of Wisconsin (Racine, WI: Western Publishing Co., 1971); Virginia Jones Maher, "The Wrought Iron Artistry of Cyril Colnik" Wisconsin Academy Review 44, no. 3 (1998) (available online via the State of Wisconsin Collection): http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/wiacrev/index.html A brief biography of Colnik is available from the Wisconsin Historical Society's Dictionary of Wisconsin History: http://wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=14917
Related objectsBronze-plated cast iron plaque, Cyril Colnik, Milwaukee (Villa Terrace object # VT1992.14): http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/wda,1589
OwnerVilla Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
Object #VT1992.24
Rights(c) 2008 by Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. Contact the owner for more information. http://www.cavtmuseums.org/
Digital collectionWisconsin Decorative Arts Database
Digital identifierVT006
Digital formatimage/jpeg
TypePhysical object
KeywordsMetalwork; Charger; Platter; Dish (vessel); Container (receptacle); Furnishings and equipment; Food Service Tools and Equipment
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