Art Nouveau Copper Tray with Smoking Frogs and Water Lily Table, circa 1900
Price:6500 SEK579 EUR624 USDChange Currency
Dimensions: Height 3 cm (2 inches) x Width 47 cm (19 inches) x Length 26 cm (11 inches)
An unusual Art Nouveau copper tray dating from around 1900, decorated in relief with a wonderfully imaginative scene of two anthropomorphic frogs seated opposite each other, smoking pipes. Between them, a water lily leaf forms the table, while the smoke rising from their pipes develops into elegant, almost leaf-like scrolling forms. The frogs sit in remarkable armchairs shaped from the leaves of plants that appear to grow upwards from the lower edge of the tray, integrating the figures into the surrounding vegetation. Flowing lines and stylised plant forms continue around the shaped border, creating a particularly successful Art Nouveau composition. Raised on four small feet, with a warm, naturally aged copper surface. A highly decorative and delightfully eccentric piece of turn-of-the-century metalwork.