WMF Art Nouveau inkwell

Very nice art nouveau inkwell manufactured by WMF company.

36cm x 23cm x 8.5cm (14.1" x 9" x 3.3")

WMF - Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik

The original company that evolved into WMF was established by Daniel Straub in 1850 as the Maschinenfabrik Geislingen, a small repair workshop set up to construct railway tracks and manufacture mill turbines. WMF became strongly influenced by the Art Nouveau style at the turn of the century with Hugo Debach as director and Albert Mayer as artistic director. They experimented with new techniques to produce a great variety of decorative designs. The first world war ended the Art Nouveau era in 1914. This brief but golden time produced a great variety of most desirable artistic and functional wares from the WMF factory. Art Nouveau was popularly related to "Jugendstil" (Youth) in Germany, to Młoda Polska (Young Poland) in Poland, “Sezessionsstil” ('Secessionism') in Vienna, and "Modernisme" in Spain with Antoni Gaudí as the most noteworthy practitioner. The movement spawned the Ballets Russes and Liberty & Co.