26 - Centerpiece; Germany, 19th century.

Centerpiece; Germany, 19th century. Embossed silver, 800 fineness. Bears hallmarks: Johann Sigismund Kurz, Hanau. Weight: 1,560 grams. Measurements: 51 x 33.5 x 25.5 cm. Large table basket with a fixed handle openworked with plant motifs and a flared body featuring a wavy rim finished with a fine beaded edge. The rim is decorated with an openwork border of interlaced links and fleurons, while the body—featuring openwork walls with arches and vertical rods—bears an engraving of laurel leaves on the lower section. Hanau, in Hesse, on the banks of the Main River, was one of Germany’s major centers for silverware and jewelry production from the 19th century onward. Its tradition dates back to the arrival of Protestant artisans (Huguenots and Flemings) in the late 16th century, and the industry took root with the production of cutlery, tableware, and jewelry for an expanding bourgeois market. Hanau shared the limelight with Schwäbisch Gmünd and Berlin in the realm of industrially produced German silverware, specializing in the manufacture of mass-produced pieces in historical styles, particularly Rococo, Neoclassical, and Louis XVI. By the end of the century, firms such as Neresheimer, Bruckmann & Söhne, and Koch & Bergfeld were competing in this market, while Hanau remained a leader in terms of production volume. Hanau hallmarks typically combine the silversmith’s or manufacturer’s mark, the fineness in thousandths, and—following German unification—the crescent moon and the imperial crown.