A metal and ceramic sugar bowl, or sugar basin, from early 20th century Germany, with simple, modernist design "2000". Second-hand.
What's for sale?
This is an attractive, metal and ceramic sugar bowl, or sugar basin, made around the 1920s and 1930s by the German companies WMF and Wächtersbach Keramik.
It was part of a large range of kitchen and table ware. For this item, the nickel-plated metalwork comprises the lid with geometric, decorative finial and the rim around the basin's neck.
This pattern is referenced by "Decor 2000" on the base, which is described in their 1929 trade catalogue as "Art grey on white ground". This sugar basin had the catalogue number 9351/2000 and was available in two sizes, this being the larger.
This pattern is an example of how styles changed between Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The small squares are reminiscent of work by modernists Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867-1908) and Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 - 1928).
Who made it and when?
It was made by WMF and Wächtersbach in Germany, around the 1920s to 1930s. The metalwork is signed on the outside of the rim with the WMF running ostrich in a fully, horizontally-striped arch over the letters "WMF G". This was used between 1920 and 1930.
The printed mark on the base reads:
- Decor 2000 (the decoration number)
- Foreign
Also impressed into the base are:
- A shield with horizontal bands (the Wächtersbach mark)
- 5150
What condition is it in?
- Second-hand
- In very good condition
- No chips or cracks
- There is faint crazing, visible on close inspection
- The metal has faint scratches and minor areas of tarnish
- The plating is good and still shiny and reflective
- The finial is slightly off vertical
What are the measurements?
- 10cm high (4 inches)
- 13.5cm handle to handle (5.3 inches)
- 10cm base diameter (4 inches)
- 313 grams
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