The Art Nouveau style was developed internationally in the 1880’s and lasted until around 1914. Art Nouveau styles were seen in metal work, including silver, public buildings, advertisements and private homes throughout Europe and North America. It was a response to rapid urban growth and radical changes caused by the Industrial Revolution and the technological advances that followed. It was also an attempt to create an international style based on decoration and was developed by many brilliant artists and designers who strived to develop an art form appropriate to the modern age.
The name was derived from the Maison de l’Art Nouveau, an interior design gallery which opened in Paris in 1896 and means New Art. Although many Art Nouveau items are not as scarce as earlier Georgian and Rococco items due to mass production of the times, Art Nouveau is still extremely collectible in its own right and it is not hard to see why. The Art Nouveau style is beautiful and characterised with flowing floral patterns and unusual leaf like shapes. It is a style which fits in with any type of decor from modern to traditional style of furnishings. The movement has also been associated with the Arts and Crafts movement, a predominantly English art movement strongly driven by William Morris (1834-1896).
Art Nouveau is style which mixed old customs and traditions with new. While some designers were influenced by new technologies other retreated to the past and used fantasy, myths and spiritual influences. Cherubs were often portrayed in Art Nouveau styles as they relected the virtuous ideals of the time. They were a spiritual contrast to the coldness of the Industrial Revolution. They could be found in literature, paintings and also embossed in silver. Silver lidded jewellery boxes were often covered with cherubs, hearts and flower. They were associated with the Romantic Movement and conveyed the message of love. Trinket Boxes were often presented to ladies by their admirers.
Items designed by renowned names such as Liberty & Co, Tiffany, Georg Jensen, and Lalique (famous for glass and jewellery) are widely sought after.
An Art Nouveau green glass and silver-mounted scent bottle by Goldmsiths & Silversmiths Co., Ltd, London 1903 The open work mount of scrolling flowers and foliage, replaced metal stopper, length 20.5cm.
Sold for £ 200 inc. premium at Bonhams in 2018
A French Art Nouveau silver-gilt box and cover Circa 1900, maker’s mark ‘BERTRANDT’, control mark indistinct In the shape of a butterfly, the modelled cover inlaid with a carved ivory girl’s face, three cabochon rubies, two drop-shaped cabochon amethysts and six small cultured pearls, the side applied with stylised flowers, marked on interior, some damage 14 cm. wide 452 gr. (gross)
Sold for EUR 7,500 at Christies in 2011
Reed & Barton Art Nouveau Sterling Silver Les Six Fleurs Pattern Salad Serving Set Early 20th century Length 9 1/2 inches, total approximately 9 ounces.
Sold for $250 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle New York in 2016
Art Nouveau Sterling Silver Match Safe
American, late 19th-early 20th century. A sterling silver match safe with repousse decoration of a woman standing among flowers, marked on interior rim; ht. 2 3/4, wd. 1 5/8 in.
Sold for $100 at Premier Auction Galleries in 2019
This is a silver gilt and topaz tiara in the Nouveau style made by Lefebvre in Paris in about 1900. The curving shapes of elongated eucalyptus leaves inspired both Australian and European Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts artists and designers. Eucalyptus trees were imported to France and the design of this tiara was most likely inspired by Australian gum trees planted in Paris. The 19th century ended with Art Nouveau (1890s-1910s), the century’s most popular style, which influenced visual arts and architecture across the western world. Particularly vibrant in the decorative arts, Art Nouveau originated in France, was adapted in Britain with some reserve, but thrived in many versions in the rest of Europe, the USA and beyond. A response to the fast-changing industrialised world, Art Nouveau embraced modernity. Whether mass-produced or handmade, Art Nouveau articles with their distinctive nature-inspired curvilinear motifs were eagerly sought after by the ‘modern’ consumer from specialist shops and new department stores.
Reference: Museum of Applied Art and Sciences
Porringer spoon 1908–20 Horace E. Potter (1873–1948), Potter Studio (active 1899–1928)
The small porringer spoon has a fig-shaped bowl. The lozenge-shaped handle tip is pierced with a naturalistic Art Nouveau-style rendering of grasses.
Reference: Museum of Fine Arts Boston
AN AMERICAN SILVER ART NOUVEAU ASPARAGUS DISH AND LINER, MARTELÉ, GORHAM MFG. CO., PROVIDENCE, RI, 1904 the rim chased with flowerheads, leaves and acanthus, engraved in center with presentation inscription, the conforming liner geometrically pierced with flowers and foliage marked on undersides and with code G/TT length 14 in. 35.5 cm 54 oz 4 dwt 1686 g
Sold for 4,375 USD at Sothebys in 2019
Silver casket of rectangular form, cedarwood lining with two interior partitions. The front half of the hinged lid is embossed with an interlacing design which runs down over the front of the body and on to the front half of each side. The lid set with a large opal in a heart shaped mount. Smaller cabochon opals in the front and on each side. Knox’s Celtic ornamentation was so crisply defined that most of his designs might have been die-struck.
This box was intended to store either cigarettes or cigars and was part of the range of designs produced by Archibald Knox for Liberty’s ‘Cymric’ range of silverware and jewellery.
Reference: © Victoria and Albert Museum
This remarkable vase, because of its size and complexity, is regarded as an outstanding example of Norwegian Art Nouveau enamel work. The bowl, which is executed in red and green plique-à-jour enamel shows the leaves and flowers of the peony, supported by two stems with leaves and blossoms of the same flower rising from an enameled base. Gaudernack trained in Vienna, but moved to Oslo in 1891. Initially, he worked for the glass house, Christiania Glasmagasin. He joined the silver firm of David Andersen in 1892 and by 1895 he had become the firm’s major designer, a position he held until 1910. He began working in various historical revival styles, but soon adopted the Norwegian dragon style echoing Viking motifs. By the late 1890s, Gaudernack had fallen under the influence of the Art Nouveau style and between 1900 and 1908 he established his reputation with large, plique-à-jour, Art Nouveau pieces such as this vase. As was his practice, this piece has been created in parts and then assembled. A drawing for the vase, now said to belong to the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C., is dated 1904, suggesting a date of 1904/05.
Reference: The Walters Art Museum
