October 15, 2023 - 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Judaica by Silversmith, Robert Hendery, ca. 1860-1890

Robert Hendery (1814-1897), of Montreal, ranks as Canada's foremost silversmith of the late 19th century. He supplied retailers across Canada with honorific, domestic, and cultic wares. The latter include liturgical objects for both Catholic and Anglican churches. Hendery also made silver for Montreal's nascent Jewish community. This presentation will explore Hendery's Judaica, its forms, design sources, and patronage for the first time. Pieces range from the prosaic to innovational, while remaining within the confines of traditionalist conventions. Some incorporate maple leaves and even beavers, with the aim to canadianize. For the most part they reflect Hendery's employment of designers from Europe, including
his son-in-law, Felix Louis Paris. This silver speaks eloquently of the culture, spirituality, and achievement of its patrons. 

Ross Fox is an art historian and decorative arts specialist who has served on the curatorial staffs of museums in Canada and the United States. He retired from the Royal Ontario Museum in 2011, where for ten years he was the curator responsible for Early Canadian Decorative Arts. Over the subsequent decade he continued at the ROM as a Research Associate. He is also an Assistant Professor (Sessional Instructor) in the Department of Art History, University of Toronto, where he teaches a course in furniture history. He also consults for museums and other cultural entities, i.e., the Canadiana Fund Committee, National Capital Commission, Ottawa. Fox has a PhD in Art History and Archaeology (University of Missouri). 

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