Pair of German silver jardiniere - Frankfurt, mark of LAZAROUS POSEN

of moulded shape resting on four foliate feet, "hammered" design body decorated with flowers and leaves. Removable upper gilded inserts. Silver 800/1000, fully hallmarked with German silver marks in use after 1888 "Crescent and crown" (Halbmond und Reichskrone), and maker's marh "posen".Lazarus Posen Witwe (1869-1939, Lazarus Posens widow) was unique among the 19th and 20th Century German silver manufactories in that its owner and principal director was a Jewish woman. The firm was founded in Frankfurt on the Main in 1869 by Brendina Wetzlar, the widow of Lazarus Jacob Posen, a silversmith and retailer of Polish descent. Under the widow Posens stewardship, the firm became the largest supplier of Judaica in the late 19th century. They received a royal warrant in 1903 and opened a second shop in Berlin. The firm followed all the latest continental trends incorporating both Danish and Austrian styles into their output. The exact date of the companys closure is not known, but it seems certain that the Jewish-owned firm was a victim of the terrors of the Nazi regime. Articles by Posen Witwe are today held in both the Frankfurt Historical Museum and the Frankfurt Jewish Museum. Height 25 cm, diameter 27.5 cm. Weights 1780 and 1740 gr. Item condition grading: **** good.