Bowl and Stand

Marie Zimmermann was one of the leading practitioners of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Her highly original and idiosyncratic oeuvre includes work in a variety of media. This bowl and stand are particularly fine examples of her distinctive metalwork with colored surfaces. Upon its introduction, Zimmermann’s patinated and colored metalwork enjoyed popular and critical acclaim. In 1922 House and Garden described Zimmermann as "that rare artist-artisan [for whom]… color is an essential part of the value of her achievement. She is handling metal, especially iron and copper, in new ways, often with simple, spacious flower-like outlines and patines(sic) that vary from the gold of an old Cypress glass to the deep red of Chinese enamel, the blue of an East Indian turquoise and verdigris that shades into silver and gold." The article singled out for special praise a "low bronze bowl in a gorgeous blue patine resting on a wrought iron standard," and went on to state that "Her copper flower dishes are perhaps her most original achievement in decorative metal."