Jewelled Sterling Silver Chinoiserie Salver Footed Tray by Masriera & Carreras

Description

Item:
Large solid silver salver with encrusted tourmaline gems
Period:
1930's
Size:
35.5 cm diameter
Notes:
This is a truly spectacular salver, a real showstopper. We bought this piece along with the other silver tray we're listing this week from someone whose grandfather worked at Masriera & Carreras in the first half of the 20th century. They are most famous for their enamel jewellery but sometimes they also made silverware. As you can probably tell from the pictures it's the work of a silversmith really showing off his talents. The central field is etched with a representation of the Stork and the Fox fable. The repoussé/chasing is sublime. The edges are finished off with stork heads which flank green tourmaline cabochon gemstones and chinoiserie type figures.It's got the Spanish star hallmark and an unreadable mark, although it's undoubtedly the work of Masriera & Carreras. Their other piece we have for sale, the tray with the hunting scene, has the full marking as the design allows for it on the edge.
History:
"
The Masriera firm was created by Josep Masriera i Vidal, an entrepreneur who opened a workshop in Barcelona in 1839.  Although the shop initially overcame a difficult start in the industry, Josep had strategically established Masriera in the gold and silversmithing quarter of the city. Because of careful and tactical planning, the business expanded under the family's careful guidance and supervision. The company then grew substantially through the talented leadership of LluÍs Masriera, a third generation of the Masriera saga and a famed jeweler of Catalan Art Nouveau.  LluÍs later became a jewelry artist of great international prestige and one of the most important international representatives of Art Nouveau jewelry.
During the early 20th century, the firm was transformed again when it merged with the Carreras family, the oldest family of jewelers and silversmiths in Barcelona. In 1915, the company Masriera Hermanos y JoaquÍn Carreras was born.  Eventually, however, the name of the company was shortened to Masriera i Carreras.  In 1925, the company presented a first class display in the International Exposition of Decorative and Industrial Modern Art in Paris.  Four years later in 1929, the firm again impressed the world when presenting at the Universal Exposition of Barcelona.
Masriera i Carreras had, without a doubt, earned a reputation for prestige and high quality craftsmanship by this time. However, one more drastic change occurred in 1985 that transformed the company into what exists today.  Masriera i Carreras merged with Bagués, a Mediterranean-inspired Catalan brand that was founded in 1917.  Today, Bagués-Masriera has become one of the most highly respected and inspiring names in the business.  Because of these three mergers, Bagués-Masriera is the only jewelry and silversmithing company in Spain, with a combined history of almost two and a half centuries in the business.  With a penchant for perfection and a desire for originality, Bagués-Masriera remains as one of the most highly respected and prestigious firms in the entire jewelry industry…"
Price references:
1. Masriera & Carreras crystal bowl on a silver frame, €1500, paulbert-serpette.com/en/catalog/categories/silverware/cutlery-and-shapes/crystal-cut-silver-metal-frame-masriera-carreras
2. Joan Pujol/Patrick Martin; Masriera silver bowl with cabochon stones, €1500 (see penultimate picture)