Posted 13 years ago
mtowns
(1 item)
I recently aquired this metal plate...
It's an Art Nouveau metal plate made in honor of the Hindenburg Zeppeling. From the style I'm guessing its from the early XXth century.
On the bottom of the plate you can see a submarine emerging and in the top a Zeppeling soaring in the skies. A city (with a church) the is also shown with a few boats on the water.
In the back you can see a number "91" embossed in it. Also on the back, there is a small embossed diamond-shaped logo with the letters WMF (The F might also be an R; its REALLY small); this is located on the top.
As soon as I get more info about it I'll post it here for you to enjoy.
I do believe that the general design follows the Art Nouveau style (named #Jugendstil in Germany) because of the organic lines we can find on its outline. On the inside of the plate we can distinguish three general elements: A LZ-1 zeppelin soaring through the skies, a city located near a body of water and a medallion with the silhouette of Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin surrounded with palm leaves. Due to the construction of the scene, I believe that it depicts the launching of the LZ-1 #zeppelin (first successful rigid airship) over lake Constance on the German city of #Friedrichshafen (identified thanks to the church’s domes) in 1900. Palm leaves are commonly used as a sign of victory and/or eternal life; so, I’m not sure if it was meant to homage Von Zeppelin’s legacy or as a memorial after his death in 1917. I assume this piece was made between 1900 and 1919 (due to the halt in Germany’s industry during the recession).