Art Nouveau Silver Plated Pewter Inkstand Desk Shakespeare Theme German

This very attractive inkstand dating from around 1900 which depicts the iconic scene when Hamlet, holding the skull of Yorrick, remembers their association in happier times. It is a beautifully modelled piece with lots of curves in the clothing, the back of the seat and the shape of the tray just pure art nouveau. The material used is silver plated pewter which has a lovely soft shine with only a few age related spots. The shine has given a few problems with the photos as it is picking up every outside influence and shows strange shadows & colours on the tray.

I have extensively researched this item and have not been able to confirm the maker. There is no makers mark and although the material used appears to be silver plated pewter which would point towards J. Kayser & Sohn I have not been able to find any reference to it in any literature available on the internet. Together with other items it came from a sale of a large collection of Kayser & Kayserzinn pieces. Kayser & Sohn were a German family company producing firstly tin then moving into pewter from 1862 to 1925.

In the mid 1890s they developed a special lead free alloy of tin d silver which produced a pewter which kept its shine. Their heyday was from 1894 to 1911, the height being 189. During this period they were known as'Kayserzinn and worked with the leading designers of the day to produce items for the domestic market rivalling Liberty in the Knox period. Their designs followed the French Art Nouveau and the linear Jugendstil to create stunning pieces then being demanded by the affluent middle classes. Their designs were numbered from a nominal 4000 in 1894 to 5000 in 1925. Their design influence waned from 1911 when Kayser died but they continued production to 1925.

It is certainly a very imposing piece which would be perfectly in place on a period desk. The item "ART NOUVEAU SILVER PLATED PEWTER INKSTAND DESK SHAKESPEARE THEME GERMAN" is in sale since Thursday, February 8, 2018. This item is in the category "Antiques\Periods/Styles\Art Nouveau". The seller is "peterf5527" and is located in Torquay.

This item can be shipped to North, South, or Latin America, all countries in Europe, all countries in continental Asia, Australia.

• Type: Inkstand
• Material: Pewter
• Original/Repro: Original
• Age: 1900-1940

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