534 - Emil Lettré

Emil Lettré An unusual silver tea kettle by Emil Lettré Large rechaud with a fitted spirit burner on four columnar supports with faun herms. Pear-form body with upswept ribbon handles above a flat footring; a tap with a curved lever on the front. The body engraved with stylised acanthus; the tap and the slightly domed slip lid with small disc finials. Height 28 cm; weight 2,132 g. Berlin, marks of Emil Lettré, 1930s. Emil Lettré held very particular views regarding the standards of the silversmith’s craft. He rejected any technical assistance in the manufacturing process, such as machine pressing or turning. Instead, his thoroughly traditional philosophy of craftsmanship sought to establish connections with the spirit of antiquity and the Renaissance. His services and beakers, candlesticks and plates, decorated with stylised acanthus engravings and mostly based on designs by his friend Eduard Pfeiffer, reflect this approach. “They combine a severe, cool formal language with the highest standards of prestige.” Rüdiger Joppien, in: Silver of a New Era, International Highlights of Precious Metalware from 1880 to 1940, Rotterdam, 1992, p. 145. BU zur Zeichnung: Family archive of Eduard Pfeiffer, Munich Provenance W. G. Herr Art and Auction House, Cologne, June 2001, lot 161; from a Rhenish collection. Literature The present version is certainly a unique piece. A comparable “samovar” is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Emile Lettré - Andreas Moritz, Zwei deutsche Silberschmiede im 20. Jh., Kunstgewerbemuseum Cologne, 1977, cat. no. 41, ill. 18.