Tea Caddy
- Designer
- Hans Przyrembel, German, 1900–1945
- Date
- 1926
- Material
- Nickel silver
- made in
- Dessau, Sachsen-Anhalt state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Containers, metalwork
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 8 1/4 x 2 3/8 in. (21 x 6 cm)
- Credit Line
- The Marjorie Wyman Endowment Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 84:2004a,b
NOTES
This plain cylinder of shiny nickel silver epitomizes the Bauhaus design principle of functionalism. All unnecessary details are eliminated to maximize its utility for storing loose tea: an opaque container with an airtight lid and a simple spout. Hans Przyrembel’s considerable skill at metalworking shows in the tea caddy’s perfect symmetry, a product of virtuosic handwork that imitates the precision of machine production. This is one of only five surviving examples of this design and was formerly owned by the artist’s family.
Provenance
- late 1970s
Ilse Schroers-Przyrembel, Germany [1]
late 1970s -
Walter Schnepel, Bremen, Germany, purchased from Ilse Shroers-Przyrembel
by 1994 - 2004
Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Cologne, Germany, purchased from Walter Schnepel [2]
2004 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Galerie Ulrich Fiedler [3]
Notes:
The main sources for this provenance are the dealer's fact sheet and an email from Ulrich Fiedler [undated fact sheet; email, June 17, 2004, SLAM document files]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Wife of the artist. An email from Dr. Klaus Weber, curator at the Bauhaus Archives, provides the full name of Hans Przyrembel's wife [email, July 29, 2004, SLAM document files].
[2] The tea caddy was in the possession of Galerie Ulrich Fiedler by 1994 ["Die Neue Wirklichkeit: Abstraktion als Weltenwurf." Mannheim: Vits & Kehrer Verlag, 1994, p. 351].
[3] Invoice dated November 11, 2004 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 30, 2004.
Ilse Schroers-Przyrembel, Germany [1]
late 1970s -
Walter Schnepel, Bremen, Germany, purchased from Ilse Shroers-Przyrembel
by 1994 - 2004
Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Cologne, Germany, purchased from Walter Schnepel [2]
2004 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Galerie Ulrich Fiedler [3]
Notes:
The main sources for this provenance are the dealer's fact sheet and an email from Ulrich Fiedler [undated fact sheet; email, June 17, 2004, SLAM document files]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Wife of the artist. An email from Dr. Klaus Weber, curator at the Bauhaus Archives, provides the full name of Hans Przyrembel's wife [email, July 29, 2004, SLAM document files].
[2] The tea caddy was in the possession of Galerie Ulrich Fiedler by 1994 ["Die Neue Wirklichkeit: Abstraktion als Weltenwurf." Mannheim: Vits & Kehrer Verlag, 1994, p. 351].
[3] Invoice dated November 11, 2004 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 30, 2004.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.