Art Deco Sugar Bowl, Silver Gilt, Strange Wear

Discussion in 'Pottery, Glass, and Porcelain' started by ValerieK, Jun 3, 2020.

  1. ValerieK

    ValerieK Well-Known Member

    sugarbowl - 1.jpg sugar bowl - 2.jpg sugar bowl - 4.jpg sugar bowl - 5.jpg This little art deco sugar bowl is almost certainly German, 1920's or 1930's. I would like to know the maker, if possible, but what I am more interested in is how it came to have much of the silver gilt worn away. The wear is much worse on one side than the other, and in places that one wouldn't touch in normal handling, like the lower part of the handles. I am fairly sure it isn't from cleaning.
    My theory is that this sat one someone's desk or table, and that the owner was in the habit of constantly rubbing their hand along the contours, including the lid, while waiting for inspiration; maybe a writer?
    It seems to have been made for export to England with the "Sterling Silver on Porcelain" stamp, so whoever owned it probably lived here. I love the incredibly art deco fashion shape; I visited a museum in Berlin which had lots of art deco ceramics, and this one could have stood along side them, except for the wear! I am almost inclined to try to rub off the remaining silver and have it in a pristine white form, but that would be destroying its history.
    Any ideas on the wear, please?
     
    Christmasjoy likes this.
  2. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    What do you read below 'on Porcelain'. Where exactly is 'lower part of handles'?
     
    i need help likes this.
  3. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    foreign......
    looks like they washed it...often...
     
    Christmasjoy, i need help and Bronwen like this.
  4. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Yep & yep.
     
    Christmasjoy and i need help like this.
  5. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

  6. Lucille.b

    Lucille.b Well-Known Member

    INH, no idea how you find these things!

    Side note, the Ebay listing states, "Beautiful patina".... emphasizes, "Great patina to the silver".

    As for the OP's question, maybe something about the construction of these (silver over porcelain) just didn't hold up over time. I do very much like the shape of the little sugar bowl though. Fantastic handles.
     
    komokwa, Aquitaine, Bakersgma and 2 others like this.
  7. janetpjohn

    janetpjohn Well-Known Member

  8. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Lucille.b likes this.
  9. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    @i need help is "magical".....I don't think her feet touch the ground!!!!!!!!!:joyful::joyful::joyful:
     
    pearlsnblume, komokwa and Bronwen like this.
  10. ValerieK

    ValerieK Well-Known Member

    "janetpjohn", the Czechoslovakian set is exactly the same shape, although a different colour scheme, and the understamp is the same, so I guess that is where it comes from, unless the seller got it wrong. I always thought that the "Foreign" referred to Germany between the wars, as well Japan, so that is something learnt! And "lightning bolt handles" is a useful term for the future! Maybe the wear is from washing, although why mainly on one side, and why wash a sugar bowl more than once in a blue moon anyway? But the other listing of a teaset (with the same backstamp) by "I need help" has similar wear, so I think I will have to abandon my fantasy of a writer caressing it while suffering from writer's block, and instead imagine an over-zealous housewife at the sink!
    I do have an art deco silvered German piece by WMF, a beautiful teapot in pristine condition. The shape is apparently called "Anmut". It's very heavy, and I believe that the silver was laid over copper or steel, which may explain why it hasn't worn off, although it may have been little used. I am going to ebay it when I can manage to take a photo without me appearing mirrored on the surface! Does anyone have tips on taking photographs of reflective objects? The teapot may have looked good on a white tablecloth in candlelight, but it's so difficult to capture it without all the background.
    amnut - 1.jpg
    This seller had the same difficulty:
    https://shop.kusera.de/Bauhaus-WMF-Tea-Pot-Anmut-silverplated
    Thanks everyone,
    Valerie
     
    Bronwen likes this.
  11. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    komokwa and Bronwen like this.
  12. janetpjohn

    janetpjohn Well-Known Member

    Since neither of those sites show a mark other than the generic oval on the OP's, we still don't really know. Don't you hate it when they give information that goes with a mark and they don't show it?
     
    Bronwen likes this.
  13. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    janetpjohn likes this.
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