Featured WMF Sugar? Bowl Mark Questions

I picked this up for $4 at a yard sale this morning. I didn't have a magnifier with me, but the sun was bright and I could read the GERMANY and see the other smaller marks, leading me to think it WMF (confirmed with supermacro setting on the camera.)

What I don't know, despite looking at the WMF mark info on both silvercollection.it and ASCAS is what the K and lower case "i" stand for. It looks like the beehive and the I/O were double-struck. Is that i something else? Without a g to with it (meaning gilt interior which it does appear to have) I have no idea.

 

Wellll, Sue, I haven't had any luck in IDing the "K" or "i." I have looked at a good 1/2 dozen webpages with WMF marks as well as pages with their pewter and copper marks. I tried finding a WMF artist, designer, that might use the letter K, nothing. As the "K" is in a square like their "B" for Britannia metal, I thought of a possible base metal. I did see that cutlery made during the 3rd Reich sometimes was "pot metal" as a base metal. In German pot metal was called Kreigsmetall = War metal. "K" might have stood for Kreugsmetall; however, this bowl certainly doesn't look like its base metal is "pot metal." Also I could find no examples of WMC using pot metal.

That might not be a lower case i. It might be the number "1" double stamped like the beehive and the I/O???

--- Susan

 

Thank you for giving it your all, Susan! I had also seen the B for Britannia, and in fact thought it looked like a B until I took the picture.

I've gone back and looked at the "i" or 1 or whatever it might be if partial or double struck and still can't make heads or tails of it.

I'm hoping that Fid might drop in and have some wisdom to share.

 

WMF - WURTTEMBERGISCHE METALLWARENFABRIK
Here ya go! Your mark is shown on the page as well as information about the company.
http://www.silvercollection.it/wmf.html
Cheers,
FBR

 

Thanks for looking, FBR. But as Ladybranch and I were saying the extra marks - The K and the lower case I are not mentioned there or on any of the other mark sites with WMF info that we know of.

 

FBR, I and am sure Baker have both looked at that page. I could not find any of the WMF markings on that page with a "K" in a square or a lower case "i" pictured with their marks. No doubt I've missed sonething on that page, please tell me where on that page is there a pic of their mark with a"K" in a square? Baker knows the WMF logo markings, but didn't kniw about the "K."

Here a few of the pages I looked at:

http://www.ascasonline.org/windowFEBBRA105.html
http://www.ascasonline.org/windowAGOST63.html
http://www.silvercollection.it/WMF.html
http://www.smpub.com/ubb/images/03/21-0449-wmfmarks.html
http://20thcenturyredux.com/WMF/WMF_Backstamps.html
http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/biography.php?artist=WMF
http://www.oldcopper.org/wmf.htm
http://www.pewterbank.com/WMF_Marks_and_part_of_the_story....12.pdf

--- Susan

 

JMHO.
I exclude Kriegsmetall fo two reasons. a) not a selling argument you'd stamp on your products. b) too uneven in quality and alloy (contains aluminum as well) and therefore nigh to impossible to gild.
at the moment I tend to either Kunstanstalt or rather a model by and made by Köhler for WMF.

 

*head slap* Sorry! Missed reading that the "K" and "i" was a missing link. Maybe it was that 2nd glass of wine. LOL Well, it's a lovely piece!

Is there a secondary factory stamp anywhere on the underside/inside handle or inside the foot rim?

The K or "i" could just be an I.D. of one of the several factories in other countries, or other companies they acquired like Albert Kohler. Records are sketchy for those companies. Also K could maybe be a repair stamp mark for work done by Kohler later?

There is a WMF copper piece on Trocadero in copper that had a K under the plain diamond and Ostrich version of the company mark, but it wasn't in a square punch. Nothing was mentioned about what the "K" signified. There is a closeup of the stamp. http://www.trocadero.com/stores/Hacienda/items/824008/item824008.html

Oh, and good morning!
Cheers,
FBR

 

ahajajaja, the K could be for Kupfer on the one on trocadero. but not sure if they used copper and then silver and then gold on the same piece.

 

Good morning, Fid and FBR!

Fid - I was so hoping that you would drop in. So, that K is not a one-off, but we don't really know its meaning, right?

And the lower case I? Is there something else it might be?

 

does anybody know if there was a general importer for the states ? or if they worked for big stores states-side ?

 

i have a beehive oil burning kettle with tap it looks like brass but is silver coloured underneath its got wmf with g ostridge wooden handles and fancy legs, it has a screw flame controll and on the kettle it says imperial on a brass plaque, any ideas what this could be worth, can i retire yet

 

Probably not. But if you want more information about it you should start your own thread about it and attach pictures of both the kettle and the marks.