Product Description
Leo-Victor Gardey (1879-1942) “Oak Leaves” ring, carved 18K gold set with a Heraldic amethyst jewel (approx. 14 carats TW), signed, c. 1900

Leo-Victor Gardey (1879-1942) “Oak Leaves” ring, carved 18K gold set with a Heraldic amethyst jewel (approx. 14 carats TW), signed, c. 1900
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.
H: 13 ¼” D base: 5 ¼” x D top: 5 ½”
CHRISTIAN DELL (1893-1974) Germany
BAUHAUS (1919-1933) Germany
“Tee-Ei” (tea ball) 1924 (rare set of 8)
Silvered brass.
***These are all in fine original, untouched condition.
Illustrated: Christian Dell: Silberschmied und Leuchtengestalter im 20. Jahrhundert, Beate Alice Hofmann, Museum Hanau (Hanau: Heller Druck,1996) illus. 15, p.56; Modernist Design 1880-1940, Alastair Duncan, The Norwest Collection (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Antique Collectors’ Club, 1998), p. 173; Decorative Arts 1850-1950, Judy Rudoe, (London: British Museum Press, 1991) cover, p. 276; Die Metall Werkstatt am Bauhaus, (Berlin: Bauhaus-Archiv, Museum für Gestaltung, 1992) pp. 140-141 Silver of a New Era, (Rotterdam: Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, 1992) p. 157; cat. no. 140.
Length: 5 1/4″
Price: $9,600
Christian Dell, metal artist and industrial designer, played a formative role in shaping the Bauhaus style. Dell was the master of the metal workshop at the Bauhaus, 1922-25, in Weimar, working closely with László Moholy-Nagy.
Born the son of a locksmith in Offenbach in 1893, he had a great impact as a teacher on the curriculum of the Weimar metal workshop. He had done an apprenticeship as a silversmith in Hanau before and had also attended the drawing academy, followed by a stay at the Weimar School of Applied Art. Henry van de Velde, director of this institution, coined Christian Dell’s early works with his organic-flowing use of forms, a feature that can also be observed on Dell’s later works.
Metal workshop at the Bauhaus in Weimar:
From 1922, the former goldsmith, silversmith and coppersmith workshops of the Weimar phase became a laboratory for design where metal vessels and lamps were made. This is also where the designs for industry, as well as metal furniture, were ultimately created. In 1922, the silversmith Christian Dell took over as master of works. Following Itten’s departure in 1923, the workshop developed in a new direction with the Hungarian Constructivist László Moholy-Nagy. Instead of individual pieces, prototypes were now made for mass production. In order to manufacture the individual models, a production line was established.
JAIPUR, MUGHAL INDIA
Enameled and gem set gold Cup and Saucer c. mid-19th Century
High carat yellow gold (22-24 carat) cup and saucer set with a fine emerald, ruby and diamonds, the cup with a high foot with rounded sides and handle formed of two snakes intersecting at three points and biting the rim. The exterior is decorated with red, green, blue and white enamels with roundels containing combatant animals on a ground of floral sprays, the saucer with gently rounded sides decorated with lobed cartouches containing warriors combating tigers and birds, the underside with a series of oval panels containing peacocks and hummingbirds.
Provenance: a gift from a European diplomat in the 1930’s-40’s, and thence by descent.
Saucer: Dia: 5 1/4;
Cup: H: 2 3/4″ (with handle) x Dia: 2 5/8″
Similar animal decoration can be found in an epaulette attributed to Rajesthan, probably Jaipur, in the Khalili Collection (Pedro Moura Carvalho, Gems and Jewels of Mughal India, London, 2010, p. 225, no. 120. A related cup and saucer with similar animal depictions was sold at Christie’s (Islamic Art, Indian Miniatures, Rugs and Carpets, London, 21st October 1993, lot 350.