Mucha, Bruckmann, 800 Silver, Art Nouveau Sugar Bowl With Woman's Head And Dragonflies

Bruckmann / Carl Stock – Sugar Box / Casket Art Nouveau, Woman's Head and Dragonflies, Silver 800, Heilbronn circa 1900 Design: Carl Stock 1898 · Peter Bruckmann & Söhne · Paris Exposition Universelle 1900 · Silver 800 Gilt

A sugar box / casket in silver 800 with gilt interior, chest-shaped on four feet, designed by Carl Stock in 1898 and executed by the Silberwarenfabrik Peter Bruckmann & Söhne in Heilbronn, circa 1900. The front and back present a woman's face with half-closed eyes and flowing hair, flanked by floral ornaments on a matted ground. The sides are decorated with dragonflies in relief. The lid is crowned by a sculptural tendril handle, subdivided by relief rinceaux. Gilt interior. Dimensions: approx. 10.6 × 14 cm · height approx. 10 cm · weight approx. 387 g. Hallmarks: Bruckmann · halbmond · crown · 800.

The decoration — a woman's face with free-flowing hair, dragonflies, sinuous plant forms — is characteristic of the naturalistic and symbolist currents of German Art Nouveau, with direct parallels to the contemporary graphic works of Alfons Mucha. The design skilfully combines French stylistic tendencies — visible in the woman's face and the dragonfly decoration — with a trapezoid chest form rooted in the traditions of the German Renaissance.

Piece documented in contemporary specialist literature and press: this box is reproduced in Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, Band 7/1900, p. 147, on the occasion of the Paris Exposition Universelle — one of the most important art journals of the period. It is also documented at the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Cologne (photograph circa 1900) and is recorded in: Städtische Museen Heilbronn, Silber aus Heilbronn für die Welt — P. Bruckmann & Söhne (1805–1973), Heilbronn, 2001/2002, p. 131.

The Silberwarenfabrik Peter Bruckmann & Söhne, founded in Heilbronn in 1805, was one of the most important German silversmithing manufactories: under the direction of Peter Bruckmann (1865–1937), leading designers — among them Carl Stock, Adolf Amberg, Friedrich Adler and Peter Behrens — created pieces that established the house's international reputation at the Paris and Barcelona World Exhibitions.

We are actively seeking further examples of this box in good original condition. If you own an example you wish to sell, we would be delighted to receive your offer.

• Dimensions: approx. 10.6 × 14 cm · height approx. 10 cm · weight approx. 387 g
• Material: silver 800 · gilt interior
• Hallmarks: Bruckmann & Söhne · halbmond · crown · 800
• Design: Carl Stock (1876–1945), 1898
• Production: Peter Bruckmann & Söhne, Heilbronn, circa 1900
• Literature: Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, vol. 7/1900, p. 147 · Städtische Museen Heilbronn, Silber aus Heilbronn für die Welt, 2001, p. 131 · Sänger, Das deutsche Silber-Besteck, Stuttgart 1991 · Metallkunst, Bröhan Collection, vol. IV, Berlin 1990, p. 70, no. 59
• Condition: very good · heavy quality

Seen in museums — available to you.

Available for viewing by appointment at our Düsseldorf gallery.

Keywords integrated: Bruckmann Heilbronn, Carl Stock, Art Nouveau sugar box silver 800, woman's head dragonfly, Paris Exposition Universelle 1900, Deutsche Kunst Dekoration, Kunstgewerbemuseum Cologne, Alfons Mucha Jugendstil