Osiris Pewter Zsolnay Ceramic Vase

Osiris / Zsolnay – Art Nouveau Vase #520, Gilt Pewter and Ceramic, Nuremberg / Pécs circa 1900 Osiris Walter Scherf & Co., Nuremberg · Vilmos Zsolnay Manufactory, Pécs · Three Handles · Three Necks

An Art Nouveau vase with three handles and three necks, model number 520, combining a gilt pewter mount by the Osiris-Metallwarenfabrik Walter Scherf & Co. in Nuremberg (circa 1900–1904) and a stoneware body by the Vilmos Zsolnay manufactory in Pécs / Fünfkirchen, Hungary. Height 18.5 cm · belly diameter approx. 15 cm. OSIRIS mark on the metal mount.

The Osiris / Zsolnay collaboration — Nuremberg metalware manufactory and Hungarian ceramic manufactory — is one of the most original and sought-after partnerships in European Jugendstil: the gilt pewter relief mount by Walter Scherf envelops Zsolnay's stoneware with its iridescent eosin glaze, creating a hybrid object simultaneously belonging to two traditions of artisanal excellence. The three-handle, three-neck form is one of the most spectacular in the Osiris/Zsolnay production — a dynamic formal equilibrium of rare complexity.

Vilmos Zsolnay (1840–1900) took over a small family ceramic workshop in Pécs in 1865 and developed one of the most innovative manufactories of the period — notably through the invention of the Eosin glaze, an iridescent metallic-lustre surface that shifts between green, gold, violet and turquoise depending on the angle of light. The manufactory presented its creations at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900, achieving immediate international recognition.

Comparable pieces from the Osiris/Zsolnay collaboration are held in the collections of the Hetjens-Museum in Düsseldorf (collection Prof. Helmut Hentrich, 1905–2001), the Dallas Museum of Art, the Corning Museum of Glass and the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art in Denver. Zsolnay pieces alone are represented at the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest.

Zsolnay is currently one of the most sought-after Art Nouveau manufactories on the international collectors' market. We are actively seeking Zsolnay works — alone or in Osiris/Orivit combination — in good original condition. If you own pieces you wish to sell, we would be delighted to receive your offer.

• Height: 18.5 cm · Diameter: approx. 15 cm
• Metal: gilt pewter · Osiris-Metallwarenfabrik, Walter Scherf & Co., Nuremberg, circa 1900–1904
• Ceramic: stoneware · Vilmos Zsolnay Manufactory, Pécs / Fünfkirchen, Hungary
• Model: #520
• Literature: Pese, Jugendstil aus Nürnberg, Stuttgart 2007, p. 200 · Csiba / Stattner, Zsolnay. Masterpieces of Hungarian Art Nouveau, 2003 · Santi / Gacher, Zsolnay Ceramics, Atglen PA, 1998, p. 153 · Csenkey, Zsolnay szecessziós kerámiák, Budapest 1992 · Kerssenbrock-Krosigk, Metallkunst der Moderne, Bröhan-Museum, Berlin 2001
• Condition: very good

Seen in museums — available to you.

Available for viewing by appointment at our Düsseldorf gallery.

Keywords integrated: Osiris Zsolnay, vase #520, gilt pewter ceramic, Walter Scherf Nuremberg, Vilmos Zsolnay Pécs, Hungarian Art Nouveau, eosin glaze, Hetjens-Museum Düsseldorf, Dallas Museum of Art, Corning Museum