Description:

Presented is a beautiful and very stylish fruit bowl designed in a very distinctive Jugendstil style - the German unique version of Art Nouveau. This style was extremely popular at the turn of the 19th century. It lasted only a decade or two, but changed the perception of design forever.

The OSIRIS factory was founded in 1899 by father Friedrich August Scherf ( 1839-1922) and son Walter Scherf (1875 –1909). It was called the “ Metallwarenfabrik Fur Kleinkunst Walter Scherf & co" in Nürnberg Before Walter Scherf became head of OSIRIS, he worked at the firm ORIVIT, until 1899 . From 1899 until 1909 the factory produced 1300 items. They outnumbered the firm KAYSERZINN with some 300 items. The firm developed a new sort of pewter in 1902: the so-called “ISIS” metal. It was more expensive to buy, but much better in quality. The firm worked with great designers They had won several prizes in Turin( 1902), the Gold medal of Konig-Ludwig Price (1902), the Gold medal in St Petersburg (1903/1904), the first and second prize in St. Louis, USA (1904), the Gold medal in Cape Town South Africa (1904/1905). In the year 1906 they changed the name from OSIRIS to “ISIS Werke Gmbh. kunstgewerblicher Erzeugnisse”. Because of bad management, the firm was almost bankrupt and, sadly, in 1909, Walter Scherf took his own life. That was the tragic end of “OSIRIS” –“ISIS”.

The firm became very popular for its Jugendstil designs and acquired many awards for the artistic implementations.

The set is made of silverplate "ISIS" pewter. It is marked with Osiris-Isis mark that was in use in 1901 - 1902. The model number is hard to read but it looks like 539. Please note - this is the original object from the period - the stylish and elegant from the very special artistic epoch.

The bowl is in a good condition for the age.  There is some minor wear to the silverplate and minor dings. Otherwise excellent - no breaks or tears, no repairs. It is 11.5 long, 8" wide, 2.5" tall.

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