Price range: PoA

Ferdinand Boberg is the Charles Ashbee of Sweden for whom I have a long held appreciation. An architect, he lead the Swedish modern movement from c 1900-1914, enjoying the patronage of the Swedish Royal family amongst many.  His architecture, with its distinctive Swedish take on art nouveau, can still be seen in Stockholm and Sweden and his decorative arts are held by Nordiska Museet in Stockholm, as well as other museums throughout Europe.  His biography and catalogue raisonne is available here and written by Ann Thorson Walton.  For decades he was, like Ashbee and Mackintosh, somewhat forgotten and weighed down by accusations of being a champion of art nouveau.  Today he is recognised as one of Sweden’s most important designers of the 20th century. Boberg designed a few pieces in silver, most made by the leading Swedish silversmith C G Hallberg, who made this tea caddy.

This symbolist caddy is decorated with Japanese influenced fish and sea themes.  The lid is formed of a crab with blister pearl shell.  The caddy lid is studded with cabochon sapphires (I count nineteen), I am sure symbolising and accentuating the sense of a foaming sea.  The crabs claws are studded with tiny diamonds (some missing, but not noticeable).

This extraordinary piece, both for its design and craftsmanship, was exhibited at the famous Decorative Art Exhibition in Turin 1902, and the caddy reproduced in Art et Decoration, volume XII, page 105 – see images.   The Journal describes the piece as follows (translated from French):

“A small silver and gilt tea caddy enhanced with pale sapphires, depicts the sea and fish, its lid shaped like a crab with a pearl as its shell. The overall effect is beautifully coloured, detailed and delicate in its ornamentation”

The box is marked for Hallberg, Stockholm 1902 and signed engraved “Ferdinand Boberg”.  It carries the number 4810 to interior lid and base in old ink – this may be a Turin catalogue number but I have not identified its significance.

Interestingly the design is atypical of much of Boberg’s work in silver but does have similarity to his also famous artist/designer wife Anna Boberg’s designs in ceramics for Rorstrand.  That said, this caddy has similar design themes to  a famous Ferdinand Boberg silver tray exhibited at the 1904 St Louis World Fair, an example of which was sold recently at auction and can be seen at this link.

Condition is excellent and the caddy is a very good gauge of silver.  There are tiny hairline cracks to the front and back of the blister pearl, barely visible without magnification.  This caddy was “lost” until acquired at a provincial US auction house, consigned by an aristocratic European emigre family.  Once acquired I was able to establish its provenance to Turin.

Maker: C G Hallberg

Designer: Ferdinand Boberg

Date : 1902

Marks: CGH, “Z6” date mark, Stockholm assay marks, signature

Material: Sterling silver, sapphires, blister pearl

Condition: Excellent

Size: Height 11.5 cm, base diameter 8.75 cm

Weight: 10.8 oz, 307 grams