St Catharine’s Unveils New Silver Artwork to Celebrate 150 Years of the Periodic Table

At the 2019 1473 Foundation Gala on 19 January, St Catharine’s College unveiled a new piece of silver artwork to celebrate 150 years of the Periodic Table.

The piece, designed by Padgham and Putland, is based on Schaltenbrand's 1920 helical version of the Periodic Table.  It was made possible thanks to a generous donation from Fellow Commoners Peter (1974) and Christina (2016) Dawson to celebrate the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, and it will be a focal piece in our upcoming month-long exhibition opening on 12 March.  It will be on display alongside other treasures including the College’s recently-acquired first edition of Mendeleev's Principles of Chemistry, published in 1869, and the amazing ‘telluric screw’ by French mineralogist Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois.

Speaking of this new artwork and the upcoming exhibition, St Catharine’s Fellow Dr Peter Wothers said “this is a fabulous addition to our silver collection and something that will fascinate our students for generations to come.  It both complements and brings up-to-date the very first attempt of the Periodic System by Béguyer.”