Lot: 21

Henry van de Velde
'Service I' coffee- and teaset, 1902/03

Coffeepot, hinged lid, execution no. 42283, H. 18.2 cm; teapot, hinged lid, execution no. 42284, H. 13.1 cm; sugar bowl with lid, execution no. 42285, H. 9.5 cm; creamer, hinged lid, execution no. 42286, H. 8 cm; and rum jug, hinged lid, H. 15.3 cm. Made by Koch & Bergfeld, Bremen for Theodor Müller, Weimar. Silver, insides partly gilt, ivory isolators. Each marked: Designer's signet, German hallmarks 925, rum jug marked: 800 and TH. MÜLLER. Each vessel shows an engraved unidentified owner's monogramme. Comes with tray (most probably not of the same model) of silver-plated, hammered metal, 53.2 x 32 cm.

Slightest traces of wear, indentations in places. The 'Service I' coffee- and teaset is van de Velde's first design he had created after having taken up residence in Weimar. Föhl/ Neumann, Henry van de Velde, Bd. I, Metallkunst, Leipzig 2009, p. 104/105; ibidem, p. 154-156, No. I.2.31-34 (drawing and clay model). An identical set had been in the possession of the Esche family as depicted in an archive photograph of the house in Lauterbach (reproduced in: Henry van de Velde, 1920, Reprint Berlin 1984, S. 89). No other exemplar is on record according to the monograph of Velde's work. Except for the rum jug and the tray all pieces correspond exactly to the drawings and the clay model of the creamer.

Hammer Price: 125,000 €