This bowl arrived in a box of giveaway silver plated tableware from a local old hotel. The Art Nouveau inspiored decorations in the corners and hand hammered look of the bowls set it apart. After a clean up, the name Nekrassoff turned up on the bottom. A Google search turned up a Russian metal worker, Serge Nekrassoff.
He was born in 1893 and emigrated to Paris after the Russian Revolution. In Paris he learned techniques for handworking in copper and pewter, apparently developing a process of working copper without having to anneal it. Upon meeting some American soldiers, he decided the US was the place for him. After a detour of a couple of years in Bueno Aires, he moved to America and settled in New York where he opened a studio making handmade decorative tableware and other objects. A move to Darien, Connecticut allowed him to expand the shop, employing up to 18 craftsmen handworking copper, pewter and Britannia metal. The company moved again after WW2 to Stuart, Florida. The rising cost of pewter meant focusing on copper items, and he also expanded into enamelware.
Nekrassoff retired in 1979, the business closed in 1982.
The bowl shown here probably dates to the prewar Darien years.
2 comments:
That's a brilliant find! How could anyone not see the value in such an artistic piece? You got it free? lol. SCORE! These folks would be interested for sure - you need to send them your link:
http://www.kellscraft.com/Nekrassoff/nekrassoff.html
your bowl is probably pewter. Its on ebay also from $50 to $150. But I would keep it.
Yes, a happy find! It's an interesting blend of roughness and craftmanship. Not valuable enough to fund my retirement but it's a nice object to have on the table.
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