Antique C.1900 WMF Art Nouveau Figural Maiden Silverplate Fruit Knife Stand

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Antique C.1900 WMF Art Nouveau Figural Maiden Silverplate Fruit Knife Stand :
$460.00

The firm \"Factory of silver-plated and gilded items Roman Plewkiewicz & Co.\" was founded in 1886 as a branch of the famous Wrttembergische Metallwarenfabrik (in English Wrttemberg Metalware Factory) or WMF.

Antique Circa late 1800\'s early 1900\'s Art Nouveau Figural Maiden Fruit Knife Stand with 12 matching knives signed PLEWKIEWICZ W WARSZAWIE (see photo),

I/O meaning normal thickness of gilding or silver plating. The piece I believe is silverplate and pewter as they did both. There is wear to the silverplate but still has a nice patina. The knives has some wear as well to the plating but not bad in my opinion for over 100 year old piece. I have not attempt to clean it. The knives are marked and are designed to fit perfectly in the two slots. Even with the plate loss still shows beautifully and would look stunning in any setting.

Please view all the photos for further description and measurements as they are an integral part of the (A WMF BRANCH IN POLAND)

Main mark of Roman Plewkiewicz foundry, which refers to galvanic silver deposition. Very similar in design to the marks used by WMF in the same period.

In the centre of the mark there is an oval, which contains the Polish inscription \"PLEWKIEWICZ W WARSZAWIE\", which means in English \"PLEWKIEWICZ IN WARSAW\".

First Plewkiewicz performed only the silvering of the base-metal items brought from Germany. Beginning in 1890, R. Plewkiewicz started the production of fashionable silver-plated table ware with coloured glass inlets, including home-made items, which constituted ~ 15% of total production.

The home-made items, as well as pieces imported from Germany and silver-plated in Warsaw, were marked similarly. As a result, the R. Plewkiewicz foundry experienced a quick growth particularly, due to a well-organized net of travelling salesmen.

In 1900, after the retirement of Roman Plewkiewicz, the firm was transformed to joint-stock company, which survived until the beginning of World War I.

For the collectors, Plewkiewicz silver-plated items made in Warsaw are as sought after as the original pieces coming from Wrttemberg.