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Coffee Service

A work made of silver plate and cane.

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  • A work made of silver plate and cane.

Date:

1929–30

Artist:

Albert Feinauer
American, born Germany, 1886–1955
Barbour Silver Company, Division of the International Silver Company
American, 1892–1931
Meriden, Connecticut

About this artwork

This dynamic coffee service exemplifies German émigré Albert Feinauer’s unique blend of modernist forms in his designs for the American market. The cylindrical and spherical shapes of the three vessels are indebted to German Bauhaus principles of clean lines and geometric simplicity, while the stepped pattern of right-angle lines, circles, and arcs suggest the fragmented and discontinuous lines of Cubism. Feinauer’s designs for the International Silver Company unfortunately coincided with the devastating stock market crash of 1929, which halted the company’s production of these modern wares.

Status

On View, Gallery 271

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Albert Feinauer

Title

Coffee Service

Place

Meriden (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

c. 1929–1930

Medium

Silver plate and cane

Inscriptions

Marked on bottom of each piece: By / Barbour / 5521

Dimensions

Coffeepot: 23.9 × 8.9 × 8.9 cm (9 3/8 × 3 1/2 × 3 1/2 in.); Creamer: 10.6 × 6.4 × 8.9 cm (4 3/16 × 2 1/2 × 3 1/2 in.); Sugar bowl: 6.4 × 14.6 × 9.8 cm (2 1/2 × 5 3/4 × 3 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Mary Swissler Oldberg Fund

Reference Number

2014.996.1-3

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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