This silver hot water urn was made by Johann Daniel Schleissner & Sohne, one of Hanau’s most celebrated silversmithing firms of the 19th century. The company was founded in 1817 by Johann Christian Daniel Schleissner (1793-1862) who came from a family of Augsburg silversmiths. The firm specialised in the production of ‘antique’ style silverware which was largely due to Johann’s son Daniel Philipp August, who studied both public and private collections of historic silver. Daniel created imitations of antique silver known as ‘Phantasieartikels’, ‘fantasy pieces’ which celebrated historic decorative styles and combined various elements of the baroque, renaissance and rococo. He exhibited his works at many fairs during the 1870s. This silver urn is embellished with finely chased putti (cherubs) and figures in the Baroque style.
