August Walther & Söhne - Platter - Amber 'Victoria' art deco bowl with spiral medallion and handles • circa 1933 - Glass

Walther & Söhne • Amber 'Victoria' dish • Art Deco • ca. 1933

Amber-colored dish with two flat handles, a spiral medallion in the center, and matte-set swathes along the rim. by Walther & Söhne.

An amber-colored Art Deco dish with two flat handles, attributed to Walther & Söhne from Ottendorf-Okrilla near Dresden and made according to their model 'Viktoria'. The 1934 model book records it as a novelty. What distinguishes this specimen: the spiral in the middle and the bands that sweep along the rim like a gust of wind. The word 'Belge' is pressed in lightly.

For this object there is also a Buy Now price set, for those who want to acquire it immediately without waiting.

At a glance:
Material: amber-colored glass, pressed, with matte-set bands
Dimensions: h 4 x w 33 (across the handles) x d 29 cm
Weight: 1240 grams
Brand: lightly pressed 'Belge'
Dating: design 1933-1934; this specimen ca. 1933-1960 (upper bound indication)
Origin: private collection, Western Europe

Description and context:
Round, shallow dish of 29 cm diameter with two flat handle plates. In the center lies a ring-shaped medallion with a spiral of concentric lines; matte-set bands swirl from the rim over the wall. The weight matches thick pressed glass.

August Walther started a glassworks in Ottendorf-Okrilla in 1888 and became known for Art Deco pressed glass. Since 1932 the company was called Sächsische Glasfabrik August Walther & Söhne, after 1945 VEB Sachsenglas; pre-war molds remained in use until 1965. The 1934 model book shows this model as a dish with two handles: 29 cm, and 33.2 cm across the handles, as in this dish.

Condition:
In good vintage condition.

In interiors:
Fits into an Art Deco, mid-century, or Eclectic interior, as a fruit bowl or on a low table. Under a spotlight, the matte-set bands appear against the warm amber.

Shipping:
Professionally packed in a sturdy box with cushioning material, for fragile objects a double box. Always insured shipping with Track and Trace. See feedback from previous buyers.

Attribution and sources:
Attributed to Walther & Söhne on the basis of the model 'Victoria', Walther model book 1934, Table 39. The press glass pavilion photo collection also shares examples with the mark 'FAIT EN BELGIQUE' by Walther 1933 in.

After 1900 import tariffs in the United States and later other trade agreements forced manufacturers to mark their product with the country of origin. Those marks were not always accurate. Therefore, on German pressed glass from the thirties to fifties you sometimes see 'Belge', 'Belgique', or 'Fait en Belgique', even though it may not come from Belgium. No known Belgian factory made this kind of decorative pressed glass in this quality. Boom did not do it and Scailmont had the capability, but nothing is in their archives. The word 'Belge' is also registered as a trademark by the Belgian factory Pavillons, which does not list this model in its catalog. Collectors find these pieces more often in Germany than in Belgium. They show the characteristics of well-known German models, such as Walther, Inwald, and Brockwitz, in common colors. According to the researchers who studied this, it concerns another factory that adopted models, while there are Walther models that carry 'Belgique' themselves. The mark thus proves the brand, not the factory. This piece is attributed to Walther & Söhne on the basis of the model 'Viktoria'.

Two points:

Assumptions: 'Another factory' and 'Bohemia' are assumptions by collectors, not proof. The text above therefore does not mention Bohemia.
Source: the rationale for the story is the BELGE page of Hogelandshoeve (Jay McLellan and Han Verhoeven, with Pamela Wessendorf). The Walther models with 'Belgique' come from the Glass Encyclopedia.

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