Henry Petzal Modern Sterling Silver Lobed Dish, Shrewsbury, New Jersey, mid 1960s

Twenty lobes create this dramatic flower-form arts & crafts bowl. It's beauty relies on its size, shape, and reflective, hammered surface.  Raised by hand, this lovely bowl has a central circular well in the center from which the twenty scalloped petals spread.

Silver by Henry Petzal is quite rare as all the pieces are hand raised, and each design is limited in number to a maximum of eight. This particular bowl is an early example by Petzal and is not marked with the usual year and quantity markings. We purchased this directly from the artist's family who said that this bowl is so marked because:

...sterling is a soft metal and can bend easily, everyone loved the design but he was unhappy that the fluted edges were thin to the point where he could bend them too easily for his liking. (1)

Although not exceedingly heavy like most examples of Petzal's later pieces, it is still quite sturdy and a rare example of his early work. It is also a wonderful insight into his figuring out his designs and the importance he placed on the degree of quality he wanted objects bearing his name to have.

Henry Petzal was a businessman who 'rose through the ranks to become a textile executive. In 1963, age fifty-seven... he resigned and committed his life to a new career (silversmith).' (2) Petzal studied at the Craft Students League in New York City under the instruction of silversmiths Rudi Schumacher and William Seitz. (3)

Fifteen examples of Petzal's work are represented in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 'In 1979, the Museum exhibited my work in a case right across the aisle from the Paul Revere bowl... At the opening reception, Jonathan Fairbanks (Curator of American Decorative Arts) called these pieces "a major acquisition for the Museum"'. (4)

This rare, unique, and stunning bowl is marked underneath with Henry Petzal's 'HP' trademark and 'STERLING/ HANDWROUGHT.' It measures 9.25 inches in diameter by 2.25 inches high, weighs 14.35 troy ounces, and is in good condition.

Provenance: Henry Petzal, by descent in the family.

Endnotes:

1. Correspondence with the artist's family.
   
2. Robert M. Doty, Henry Petzal/ Silversmith, (Manchester: The Currier Gallery of Art, 1987), p. 4.
3. Ibid, p. 7.
4. Ibid, p. 12.