WMF Jugendstil dish c1890. Striking stylised geometric foliate design evocative of the Art Deco period yet to come. From its marks, this dish would have originally had an antique (dark) silver finish but has been re-plated in silver - making it a very eye-catching decorative piece. Stamped with the WMF mark used between c1885 and c1895 together with the letter M which signifies brass as the base-metal. This WMFM mark being rare. The stamped mark "a/s" refers to the antique silver plating finish and i/o to the gauge of plating. The dish is 30.5 cm maximum length, 20 cm in width and 4.5 cm in height.
 
WMF (Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik) traces its origins back to 1853 when the Straub & Schweizer metal works in Geislingen, Germany was established. They merged with Ritter & Co in 1880 – but after financial problems, joined with the Wurttemberg Union Bank to form “WMF”. From its founding as one company, WMF's growth was tremendous - acquiring more factories along the way, notably including "Orivit AG" and "Orion KM". By the end of the 1900's, they were the world's largest producer and exporter of household metalware. For information on WMF visit our Maker's History pages.