Engelbert Kayser - Fruit bowl - Silverplated, Glass

Rare basket produced by Engelbert Kayser in the last quarter of the 19th century.

In excellent condition, the silver plating is still vivid, with no scratches. Inside the basket, there is a glass piece, also in perfect condition.

Stamped at the base with an eagle and the inscription Kayser.

The largest pewter factory in Rhineland of the nineteenth century traces its origins to a small family business; in 1813, Johann Peter Kayser was born in Cologne, who, after learning the trade of turner, opened a small foundry in Krefeld in 1851.

In 1864, Johann Peter Kayser's eldest son, Engelbert Kayser, founded the workshop 'Kunstgewerbliches Magazin für Gebrauchs- und Luxuswaren,' which provided an overview of contemporary German and European craftsmanship. His brother Jean Kayser, who had already been managing their father's factory since 1874, built the 'Leuconide – und Metallwarenfabrik J. P. Kayser Sohn' in Krefeld-Bockum in 1885.

We do not know much about the period between 1870 and 1890, but it is important to mention the then-existing division between the production of simple consumer goods and the creation of luxury objects. The item offered at auction is probably from this period, prior to unification.

In 1890, Engelbert Kayser decided to take the helm of the factory to unify and coordinate the activities and to definitively end the distinction between the two productions. He placed great trust in the artist and designer Hugo Leven, to whom he also financed various study trips to France and England. During the same period, Karl Geyer was also working for the atelier, and the collaboration among the three men led to the development of the first collections and services, lasting until 1901. This was the phase of relief floral decorations created by Leven.

In 1900, near the Paris world exhibition, Engelbert Kayser received a gold medal as the principal inventor of products from the Kayserzinn factory in Krefeld, whose production subsequently doubled following this important recognition. It was during this period that Leven and Fauser, using clay and plasticine, developed the 'Daumendrückrelief': a new technique in which the relief became less perceptible to the touch and the decorations almost engraved, in low relief.
From 1902, the year in which Kayserzinn received a second important recognition, more than one hundred new models were produced by 1904; Karl Berghof, in collaboration with Leven and Fauser, introduced new artistic forms, conical and cylindrical.

In 1904, Kayserzinn received the last recognition at the St. Louis exposition in the USA, but from that same year until 1909, no more than two hundred and fifty new models were produced, designed by Karl Berghof in Krefeld; Leven and Fauser left their positions at the workshop during this period.

Engelbert Kayser died in Cologne in 1911. The outbreak of the First World War and the rising cost of raw tin gradually led to the abandonment of the Atelier. The wealthy Ministry of War tried to preserve the factory in Krefeld, but over the years, all molds were sold, and in February 1930, the bankruptcy proceedings of the 'J.P. Kayser Sohn AG Krefeld Fabrik' began.