ANTIQUE 19thC AUSTRIAN SOLID SILVER & ENAMEL EWER, HERMANN RATZERSDORFER c.1880
Antique late-19th Century Austrian exceptional solid silver & enamel ewer, standing on a raised round base, urn shaped, elaborate scrolled spout and the body hand painted throughout with classical allegorical scenes, applied with cast decorative straps terminating with lion masks, grotesque dragon and cherub scroll handle. Appears to be unmarked, attributed to a renowned Viennese silversmith, Hermann Ratzersdorfer.
Reference Number: A6131
DESCRIPTION
Antique late-19th Century Austrian exceptional solid silver & enamel ewer, standing on a raised round base, urn shaped, elaborate scrolled spout and the body hand painted throughout with classical allegorical scenes, applied with cast decorative straps terminating with lion masks, grotesque dragon and cherub scroll handle. Appears to be unmarked, attributed to a renowned Viennese silversmith, Hermann Ratzersdorfer, Born in Bratislava in 1819, Hermann Ratzersdorfer moved to Vienna at the beginning of the 1840's, where he started working as a silversmith. He specialised in silver and gold objects of vertu, tableware and jewellery, often enamelled and decorated in the style known as Historicism. He was also acclaimed for his rock crystal objects.
In 1843 he registered his first mark; two years later he exhibited at the Viennese Trade exhibition and in 1851 he participated at the London Exhibition winning a medal for a beautifully ornate toilet glass.
Four years later he won the second prize at the Paris Exhibition and in 1871, at the London Exhibition, he was given a diploma of honor and praised for its colorful creation in the neo-Renaissance style (Strong Roy, The collector's encyclopedia, Victoriana to Art Deco, Studio Editions, 1990, p.224).
When he retired, in 1881, his son Julius took over the business.
Nowadays Hermann Ratzersdorfer’s enamelled pieces, often combining precious metals and rock crystal, are sought after by international collectors.
CONDITION
In Great Condition - enamel restorations.
SIZE
Height: 31cm
Width: 13cm
Depth: 11cm
Weight: 850g