Hugo Leven

Tea Glass

c. 1900, German
Marked 'Kayserzinn 4819' in oval
Pewter
Excellent polished condition
J.P.Kayser & Sohn AG
2.5" high without glass (which is probably from a later date)

Literature: Illustrated in the museum catalog "Metallkunst 1889-1939", The Bröhan Museum, Berlin.

An important Tea Glass Holder designed by Hugo Leven (Dusseldorf 1874-1956 Bad Soden-Salmunster) for Kayserzinn. Characteristic impressed "thumbprints" form the design motif of this exceptional pewter object.

$200.  Inquire about this item

In 1862 the Dusseldorf based Kayser family, already in the tin industry, opened a new foundry in the Bockum district of Krefeld called J.P.Kayser & Sohn AG. The firm reached its maximum size in 1899 with a workforce of 400. The Krefeld foundry run by Jean Kayser was devoted to mass production, whereby the designs originated from the Cologne studio of Englebert Kayser. At the exhibitions in Paris (1900), Turin (1902), Dusseldorf and St.Louis (1904), the company enjoyed great success with its "Kayser pewter", a special lead-free alloy of tin and silver distinguished by its lasting gleem - success which it owed to its outstanding designers: Hugo Leven, Karl Geyer, Hermann Fauser, and others. The decors they designed were inspired by both floral French Art Nouveau and by linear Jugendstil. It was the Kayser company's aim, through its use of the methods of mass production, to make artistically designed, contemporary objects of daily use accessible to a broad selection of the public. (Gabriele Fahr-Becker, Art Nouveau, 1997)