German silver plated and mounted horn cornucopia vase

Crafted from horn and subsequently mounted and plated with silver mounts, this fine piece is a cornucopia vase that features decoration to the rim, body, and is mounted on a small ornate stand and circular base.

Examples such as these were very popular in Northern Europe and Scandinavia, although the present example is all likelihood a German piece, as suggested by the marks, and is virtually identical to other works by of the same type by WMF, or Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik, a leading German firm founded in 1853 and renamed in 1880.

Cornucopia refers both to the object type, and the idea of the term as a symbol celebrating form and drink, from the latin cornu + copia, or 'the horn of plenty.' Such pieces date as far back as antiquity, and became popular again in Western Europe in the nineteenth century, and a specialism of fine artistic metalworkers such as WMF.