Bismarck Family Crown – House of Koch, Chignon crown, Moonstones and diamonds set in an elaborate platinum mount, original leather box, c. 1900
BISMARCK FAMILY CROWN
HOUSE OF KOCH Germany
Chignon crown c. 1900
Moonstones and diamonds set in an elaborate platinum mount, original leather box
The renowned “House of Koch” made this remarkable bejeweled chignon for the Bismarck family of Lauenburg, Germany. It is an early example of exquisite work in platinum and is set with cabochon moonstones and rose cut diamonds. The jewelry firm, known as the “House of Koch” was founded by Robert and Louis Koch in 1879 in Frankfurt, Germany with a branch in Baden-Baden. By 1883, the jewelers had earned the coveted title of Jeweler of the Court of Frankfurt and crafted jewels for many European Royal families. In fact, their jewels were famous across Europe, and their fashionable styles were worn in the courts of several European royals including the King of Italy and the Czar of Russia. By the time Robert Bosch had assumed control of the firm in 1938, the Koch family was forced to “Aryanize” their jewelry house. It was common during the late nineteenth Century for prestigious families to retool old antique heirloom pieces to bring them up to contemporary fashion standards and since this chignon has characteristics of both the 18th and the 19th Century jewelry, it was likely made from older pieces owned by the Bismarck family. The company closed doors in 1987 and jewels from the great time of the House of Koch are very much sought after in today’s antique jewelry market.
Max Läuger Germany Unique Jugendstil footed bowl inlaid with gold mosaic 1906
PROF. MAX LÄUGER (1864-1952) Karlsruhe, Germany
Unique Jugendstil ceramic footed bowl inlaid with gold mosaic 1906
Light and dark green glazed earthenware inlaid with mosaic gold glass squares on four cylindrical feet.
Marks: ML, K (monogram)338 (incised), 4., MUSTER B.., GESCHTZ
For other mosaic inlaid works by Max Läuger see: Max Laeuger (1864-1952): sein graphisches, kunsthandwerkliches und keramisches Oeuvre, Elisabeth Kessler-Slotta (Saarbrücken: Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, 1985) pp. 178/179; Europäisches Kunstgewerbe 1927, Stadtisches Kunstgewerbe-Museum zu Leipzig, (Leipzig: E.A. Seeman, 1928) p. 86; Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration vol. XII “Professor Max Laeuger Karlsruhe”, pp. 221-237; Modernism: Modernist Design 1880-1940 (The Norwest Collection, Norwest Corporation, Minneapolis), Alastair Duncan (Woodbridge, Suffolk, England: The Antique Collector’s Club, 1998), p. 86.
H: 5 3/4″ x Dia: 7 1/4″
Max Laeuger (or Läuger) was born in Lörrach on September 30, 1864. Laeuger was a self taught ceramicist, studied at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic a hundred miles to the north-west of Lörrach (now Karlsruhe University) and eventually became a professor at the university. In 1895 after travelling throughout Europe visiting the major cultural centers to study art he was appointed director of the art pottery department of Tonwerke Kanderne close to his home town. He stayed there until 1913 and later took up a similar position at Majolika-Manufaktur in Karlsruhe.
From 1921 he had his own workshop on the premises formerly owned by the company and produced designs there. The work produced fell into three categories, slip decorated wares designed by Laeuger but produced entirely by the factory, pieces made at the factory but decorated and glazed by Laeuger and one-off pieces by the professor made from beginning to end in his own workshop. All were marketed by Majolika-Manufaktur. Laeuger’s one-off pieces had the brushed initials ‘ML’ and the other works were marked ‘LAEUGER’ or ‘PROF. MAX LAEUGER’
Through the thirties and into the Second World War he worked on his own, but after his workshop was destroyed in 1944 he returned to Lörrach where he died on December 12, 1952. Laeuger was a major figure in German ceramics. His designs and his glazes had ‘organic’ characteristics that are his signature design and his work is much sought-after by collectors. Examples of Laeuger pieces are on display at the Badisches Landesmuseum in Karlsruhe.
Paul Haustein Germany Rare Jugendstil enamel and silver inkwell c.1900
PAUL HAUSTEIN (1880-1944) Germany
HERMANN BEHRND (b. 1849) SILBERWARENFABRIK (silver) Dresden, Germany
JAKAB RAPOPORT (enamelist) Budapest, Hungary
Inkwell c. 1900
Multicolored burgundy, purple, blue and green enamel with silver mounts, glass insert
Marks: Moon, crown, 800, HB (Hermann Behrnd mark)
Same model with variant mount illustrated: Deutsche Goldschmiede-Zeitung, n.d. (circa 1903-05), p. 23
For related works and more information see: Art Nouveau in Munich: Masters of Jugendstil, ed. Kathryn Bloom Hiesinger (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1988) pp. 67-69; Jugendstil in Dresden, Aufbruch in die Moderne, Gisela Haase et al., exh. cat. (Dresden: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; Wolfratshausen: Edition Minerva, 1999).
Breuhaus de Groot / WMF Ikora Germany Art Deco Rare “Pokal” Covered Footed Cup 1928
FRITZ AUGUST BREUHAUS DE GROOT (1883-1960) Germany
WMF [WÜRTTEMBERGISCHE METALLWARENFABRIK] Geislingen
“Pokal” Covered footed cup ( model no. Br 6 )1928
Silverplated brass, model no. Br 6
Marks: WMF insignia (touchmark), x/o
Illustrated: Goldschmiedekunst 49, (1928) m. Abb; Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration 63, (1928/29) Abb S 353; Metallkunst: Kunst vom Jugendstil zur Moderne (1889-1939), Karl H. Bröhan, Band IV (Berlin: Bröhan-Museum, 1990) n. 610, p. 571; WMF Ikora Metall / Metalwork, Carlo Burschel and Heinz Scheiffele (Stuttgart, Germany: ARNOLDSCHE, 2006) pp.12,19,34.
Rudolf Rieger / WMF Ikora Germany Art Deco Dinanderie Pair of Vases c. 1930
RUDOLF RIEGER Germany
WMF [WÜRTTEMBERGISCHE METALLWARENFABRIK] Geislingen, Germany
Dinanderie pair of vases c. 1930
Brass with a black patina and stylized silver inlay in a geometric motif
Marks: WMF castle mark
Illustrated: WMF Ikora Metall / Metalwork, Carlo Burschel and Heinz Scheiffele (Stuttgart, Germany: ARNOLDSCHE, 2006), p. 58, 156 and 185.
H: 3 1/4″ x Dia: 4″
Price: $1,950
Rudolf Rieger was in Paul Haustein’s master class and worked as self-employed goldsmith in Stuttgart. Between 1920 and 1930 he submitted designs for metal objects to WMF AG and from 1940 until 1941 he was the master instructor at the WMF art-metal division.
Silver-plated copper with with red patinated squares and rectangles on a black-patinated textured background
Marks: WMF castle mark, IKORA
Illustrated: WMF Ikora Metall / Metalwork, Carlo Burschel and Heinz Scheiffele (Stuttgart, Germany: ARNOLDSCHE, 2006), p. 142, 90/585.
For more information see: WMF Glas Keramik Metall 1925-1950, Jörg Schwandt, (Berlin: Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museum Preussischer Kulturbesitz, 1981). Metallkunst, Band IV (Berlin: Bröhan-Museum, 1981) pp. 546-579.
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