Silver Cup and Saucer Set by the Important Artist Bernhard Friedlander. Germany, ca. 1920.

Silver Cup and Saucer Set by the Important Artist Bernhard Friedlander. Germany, ca. 1920.

Friedlander was one of the major silversmiths of his time, and is one of the few known makers of Judaica objects in the Art Deco style. While very few of the objects he created have survived the Holocaust, there are many pictures of objects by him in the archives of the pre-war Jewish Museum of Berlin. These images are now held at the ZIH in Warsaw.

Friedlander's work is very much in concert with that of two other German emigres to Palestine, Ludwig Wolpert and David Gumpel. 

Bernhard Friedlander (1881-1941) was a German-Jewish artist, silversmith, jewelry designer and Judaica artist. He was born in a small town on the Polish-Russian border, Friedlander learned the art of silversmithing in Lodz, Warsaw, Odessa, Tbilisi and Berlin. In 1913 he moved to Düsseldorf, Germany, where he established an important workshop. Among other work, he was responsible for creating Jewish art objects for many important synagogues, such as those in: Düsseldorf, Essen, London, and several cities in the United States.

In 1932 he immigrated to Israel and moved his workshop to Sheinkin Street in Tel Aviv. One year later, when the important silversmith artist Yehuda Ludwig Wolpert immigrated to Israel, Friedlander recruited him to work in the workshop he founded. The workshop was later sold, and changed its name to 'Silver'.

The silver cup and accompanying saucer dispaly a clean, minimalist and very modern look, characterized by elegant lines, pure shapes, and polished surfaces. The only decorative element is the graphic Hebrew monogram 'Mem-Dalet' featured front and center on the cup.

Cup: 4.3 x 10 cm. Saucer: 13.8 c. Combined weight: 247 gr. Marked. B. Friedlander, 'תה' [תוצרת הארץ - Made in Israel]. STERLING.

An interesting and attractive modern Jewish work by an important Jewish silversmith from the beginning of the 20th century.