Antique Art Nouveau/Jugendstil 4-piece Pewter Coffee Service by Orivit c.1910s

Description:

Presented is a beautiful and very stylish coffee service 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 set consists of a coffee pot, a tea pot, a sugar bowl and a milk jug. All designed in this specific Jugendstil style.

It was manufactured by Orivit - one of the most famous metal-ware German company that specialized in designer Jugendstil everyday items. The ORIVIT – AG was founded in 1894 as “Rheinische Broncegieserei fur Kleinplastiken ” in Koln-Ehrenfeld by Wilhelm Ferdinand Hubert Schmitz ( 1863-1939 ). From 1896 they began with the making of luxury items the so called ORIVIT metal (89,85% pewter 7,9 % antimony 1,9 % copper 0,12 % silver ) In 1900 the factory changed its name to ”ORIVIT –AG fur Kunsthandwerkliche Metalwarenfabrikation” .In 1901/02 they built a new factory in Köln- Braunfels and began with a revolutionary new press “the Huber –Presverfahren” The factory has won several prizes: in Paris the gold medal at the world exhibition of 1900< in Dusseldorf in 1902 at the” Industrial Design Exhibition” And at the exhibition in St Louis (USA) 1904 they won 2 Grand Prix prizes and 1 gold medal. In 1905 the total financial collapse was a fact and the “Wurttembergische Metalwaren Fabrik” (WMF) bought ORIVIT . They produced items with the name ORIVIT until 1914.

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

The set is made of silverplate brass. It is marked with Orivit - AG mark that was in use from 1900 till 1914 when WMF stopped producing items with Orivit name. The model numbers are 8739 through 8741 indicating they were made around early 1910s. Please note - this is the original object from the period - the stylish and elegant from the very special artistic epoch.

The set is in a good condition for the age.  The silverplate is partially worn out - around 20%. The coffee pot has two dings at the bottom. Otherwise excellent - no breaks or tears, no repairs. The coffee pot is 9.5 tall.

Reference#: